The Poison Apple
by BubbleArya
Summary: Cinder, as the new queen of Luna, is loved and cherished by all. But not everyone believes justice has been brought to them. So when she accepts an invitation to visit Earth, her life and the lives of the people she holds close could be in more jeopardy than she'd originally thought.
1. The Invitation

**Hey!  
I've had this plot scribbled down in my notebook for a while and so I decided to write it as a means of relaxation from stressful school work! Hopefully, you enjoy it!**

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The regolith towers of Luna loomed overhead, casting large shadows below. People hurried through their daily routines as they shuffled in and out of the booths that lined the streets. Cinder watched as a group of children chanted a nursery rhyme before they all collapsed onto the path, giggling. She had always loved the children for that; playing their games in the middle of nowhere, annoying people whom had to walk around them to be on their way. Cinder smirked, reminding herself of the many times she'd adored the kids in New Beijing whenever they got in the way of customers.

She stopped in her tracks, her mind racing to grab the memories she had left behind so many years ago. Her life as a mechanic had been thrust away, and, as Cinder liked to think of it, she had been chained to a throne on the Moon. She didn't think it was so bad now, but she still had the sense of longing for her mechanic booth back on Earth.

Memories shifted through her brain, as if the netscreen inside her head was playing it as a video in front of her eyes. She remembered her booth, in all its stuffy glory. She remembered Adri and Pearl, and Peony, whose name still scarred her heart.  
And she remembered him.  
His startling copper brown eyes and his midnight black hair had committed itself to her memory. She felt a sensation of desire for him, but she knew that was impractical. Not where she was now. She was all the way on the Moon. And he?  
Kai was on Earth.  
Far, far away.

Cinder made her way through the winding streets casually as if it was the most normal thing for a queen to do. People bowed their heads respectfully as they passed and Cinder felt obliged to return the gesture. Little children occasionally ran up to hug her or waved frantically at her until she waved back. She liked the attention a bit; it was different from the years of seclusion she'd experienced at her booth.

Nearing a fruit stall, her eyes swept over the apples on display. Ever since she'd tasted Luna apples, Cinder had fallen in love with them. They were like no other fruit she'd ever tasted, with sweet juice that trickled down the lips and a crunchiness that enhanced its flavour. She eagerly inched herself towards the basket, and studied one in her hands. The surface was smooth and it looked as though it had been polished to the point where it glistened if a single ray of light fell upon it.

'You look very pretty today, Your Majesty,' a little voice squeaked through her thoughts. Cinder looked down to see a little girl with wavy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Cinder was donned in a shimmering navy gown; the sleeves started just past her shoulders and ended in a pointed shape at her knuckles, the bottom hem of the dress settled on the floor. A navy blue rose was pinned to a complexly wrapped belt at her waist. She smiled and patted the girl on her head.

'Thank you,' she smiled. The girl kept her wide eyes trained on Cinder as if she could see all her wiring through her skin. Finally she spoke.  
'Have you found a king yet?! I really want a king!' The girl's eyes were bright and hopeful and Cinder almost felt like telling the girl a lie, but she knew the truth was what she wanted.  
'No,' Cinder laughed. 'Perhaps someone will come soon and be the shining star of my sky.'  
'I hope that's soon!'

Almost everyone in Luna, especially the children, fantasised about a King. They seemed to think it fitting their Queen have a man by her side to run affairs and make her happy. The children just wanted some romance to fangirl about. Cinder thought otherwise. The girl turned around as her mother appeared from a crowd of people and with one final hug; she skipped away and disappeared into a store.

The artificial light reflecting off the store window blinded Cinder's eyes, making her tear her gaze away from the shop the girl had gone into. Another thing Cinder missed from Earth; the weather. She liked experiencing the beautiful weather shifts in New Beijing, gazing at the sky from her booth, wondering what the weather would be like the next day. Here on Luna, it was all controlled forecast and so most of the days went by with continual weather cycles depending on the citizen's needs. Although it was convenient for the agricultural sides of Luna and everything else that depended on the weather, Cinder just didn't think it felt right.

A stream of green text flowed past her vision, her thoughts being broken for the second time with a message from Scarlet.  
_Comm from the EC officials. Requesting to speak with you immediately. _  
Her heart racing, taking on her diplomatic side, she apologised profusely as she slipped through huddled people and rushed back towards the palace.

She was just in time, slipping into her seat for the meeting, as Scarlet, Cinder's Royal adviser, finished a quick speech for an excess matter. Cinder's gaze swept over each Union leader, whose eyes were on her. And then she saw him. Kai looked bored as ever, raking his hand through his hair, something he'd always done. Cinder had always loved the gesture; it was one of his cute habits. Their eyes locked, and his lips quirked into a teasing smile, knowing that she would have been blushing if she had the ability to. Scowling, she turned her attention away from him.

'So what are we sitting here for?' Queen Camilla's voice filled the vid-link's speaker system.  
'I believe the young Emperor called this meeting,' President Vargas said. 'Well Emperor?'  
All eyes shifted to Kai, who had his chin settled on his cupped hands. He straightened in his chair before addressing the other leaders.

'I know it was a random meeting but it is a necessary one according to Torin.' Kai showed no enthusiasm in his words, earning a disapproving glare from the man behind him.  
'I understand this is a very short notice but the Commonwealth will be holding a party on April 7. We extend our invitations to all Union leaders,' Torin said. Cinder remembered him as Kai's royal advisor. She thought he'd always found her an annoying brat in Kai's life.  
'Why the random function?' Governor-General Williams asked looking as bored as Kai, which was something since it was often Kai who was the most bored of all.

There was a momentary silence as everyone thought of an answer. Something in Cinder's brain clicked. She found herself smiling at the thought but she masked it with a poker face.  
'His Majesty's birthday.'  
All eyes shifted to Cinder. She shuffled uncomfortably, hating the fact that everyone's attention, including Kai's, was trained on her. But she had no reason to be unnerved by their enlarged faces upon the screens and she looked them all in the eye, sitting a little straighter.

'Emperor Kaito's birthday,' Cinder repeated, forcing herself to raise her head. Kai flashed a charming grin at her, which killed her defences almost instantaneously.  
'You have good memory. Yes, it will be my 22nd Birthday. The point though, is if you would be as gracious to accept the invitation,' Kai said, drumming his fingers against the table he was seated at. He eyed each Union leader as if daring them to decline and it seemed as though they graciously accepted it.

'I think I'll pass on the invitation with all due respect,' Prime Minister Bromstad of the European Federation said. Slowly, each of the other Union members declined, hurrying nonsensical excuses about things to do. Cinder thought it was just because they couldn't care less about a birthday and it was doing none of their countries any good. Kai glared at them accusingly, but said nothing. The silence dragged on.

'I'll accept.'  
All eyes once again shot to the Lunar queen who'd spoken their eyes wide in surprise. Cinder had only came to Earth 3 times over the 4 years she'd been queen; twice to sign documentations and once for a tribute to Farafrah, the small African town whose people lost their lives to help her back when she was a fugitive. She didn't see the need in coming for no reason and she'd always felt uncomfortable at the way people, especially the media, stared at her. She thought it was just because she was a cyborg girl who everyone had criticised and hated from their hearts who'd turned out to be the lost princess who won them freedom from a lifetime of horror and slavery. But just this once, because the others were disagreeing, she'd accept.

'I'll come,' Queen Camilla said just as quickly as she'd declined. Cinder smirked. She knew Queen Camilla just couldn't stand having another queen in the Union. Now that Cinder was here, both the people on Earth and Luna had taken to idolising her instead, and soon enough she became a hit with almost everything, leaving Queen Camilla to sit on her throne in jealousy. And if Queen Selene would be attending the party, then so would Camilla.

Cinder didn't mind the rivalry, possibly because she really didn't care if she was idiolised or not. The people of Luna wanted her and that was all that mattered. Besides, Cinder's beauty was genuine; her brown hair draped finely down her back and her tanned skin was almost flawless. Camilla's was not much so; her years of many plastic surgery attempts had made her face look like she'd just eaten a lemon and the taste was permanently in her mouth.

It seemed everyone else had decided they'd attend too as they all agreed into coming._ Figures _Cinder thought, and Kai seemed to be thinking the same thing as they shared a smirk. Cinder knew all of them just wanted a chance into bribing her to come to their countries and take a chance at becoming her favourite Union leader. She didn't have a favourite, didn't want a favourite. Cinder had classed most of the Union leaders as disinterested political leaders who rarely showed any sign of emotion besides the usual distasteful glares or the bribery kindness she received from them.

'So you're all going to come now?' Kai asked, giving them a smug look.  
'Wonderful!' Torin smiled. 'I do hope the Eastern Commonwealth will live up to your expectations. We will inform our citizens of your attendance and will gladly welcome you to our country.'  
Kai still wore the smug look, but nodded in appreciation.  
'I look forward to your presence,' Kai said, nodding like he really meant it, but of course Cinder knew him well enough to know he was just teasing them. And with a final nod of acknowledgement at each other, Cinder found herself staring at her reflection in the blank screens.

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**I really do hope you enjoyed it! I don't mind any constructive criticism or reviews in general!  
Please do so if you have the time because I'd love to know your opinions of my writing.**

**Thank you,  
Arya**


	2. The Rush Of Preparations

**And….Chapter two arrives!  
I apologise if the events rush a little more than they were supposed to but I felt I was dragging on so…  
Enjoy, I suppose?!**

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Kai tapped at his portscreen, sending away various documents without bothering to read through them. He raked a hand through his hair and leaned back in his seat. All morning he'd been trying to do something productive in his office, but to his dismay he'd been as unproductive as ever, taking the childish pleasure of spinning casually in his chair.

His mind kept drifting to the meeting he'd left hours ago. He smiled at the thought, replaying how all the Union leaders had declined because they weren't bothered coming. But then she'd accepted and they'd all suddenly changed their minds. The Lunar queen, who rarely spoke or attended Union meetings, had agreed to come.

His eyes caught on a metal object, glinting in the Spring sun. A metal foot. But not just any metal foot. Cinder's metal foot; the one he'd picked up from the stairs at the ball a couple of years ago when he'd learned she was both cyborg and Lunar. He reached out to touch it but a robotic voice snagged his attention away.

'_Royal Advisor Konn Torin requesting permission to enter'  
_'Permission granted,' he muttered wheeling his chair back into the desk.  
Torin came in, setting down a tray of assorted sweets on the table.  
'I'm glad to see you've been working hard,' Torin said, giving Kai a quick bow. A small pang of guilt filled Kai's chest. Torin thought he had finally gotten to understand the documents that had been lying there for days and he really didn't want to tell him the opposite. He nodded instead.

'It's so much fun I can't think of anything I would want to do other than this,' Kai said sarcastically.  
'How about getting yourself to the meeting with Tashmi Priya that you're supposed to be at in a few minutes?'  
Kai sighed heavily, studying a biscuit he'd taken from the plate.  
'Oh! That's even more fun! What are we discussing today? Balloon colours?'

Kai stood up, closing the files on his portscreen. He could tell Torin was trying to remain expressionless.  
'Just go before you're late!' Torin urged. Sandwiching the biscuit between his lips, Kai jogged through the hallways of the palace towards the gardens where the party organiser was waiting for him.

'Any preferences for seafood, poultry or meat?'  
Kai peered at the party organiser through the bangs that were partially covering his eyes. 'No whatever the chef feels like making.' It'd been an hour already and he, Torin and Priya were still sorting what food should be at the party.

'Do you have any likings as to the cake?' Tashmi Priya asked. Kai looked at her. She was delighted to have taken the task of the birthday preparations after the wedding between Levana and he ended in disaster. Put together neatly in a red sari she seemed to be enjoying the Spring sun.  
'Surprise me,' Kai answered. Torin glared at him disapprovingly.

'Your Majesty, you ought to put a bit more effort into this. After all, all the Union leaders will be in attendance,' he muttered.  
'I don't need to impress them!' Kai childishly argued back. A teasing look appeared on Torin's face. Kai raised his eyebrows in question.  
'Do you not want to impress Her Majesty Queen Selene?' Torin asked. He and Priya shared a knowing smile.  
It was Kai's turn to glare. Very few people knew his true feelings towards Cinder and, unfortunately, Torin was one of them. He shot Torin a sour face, before turning back to Priya.

'Continue, Tashmi Jiě,' he said.  
Priya tapped in a few buttons on her portscreen before looking up at him. 'You seem to be quite restless today, Your Majesty. Perhaps it is because you've been doing nothing but diplomatic stuff all morning. Maybe you should take a rest. I'll sort out some more details with Torin,' she smiled. Kai knew she was just using a nicer way of telling him he was being of no use and she might as well have been talking to a brick wall, but he took the words as an excuse to slip back into the palace and relax.

* * *

He dreamt that he was following a girl under the moonlight, with the stars twinkling to the rhythm of her voice. He was wearing a simple white shirt, black pants and hard leather boots. The cool breeze ruffled his hair as he swerved to miss a tree in the never-ending forest they were in.

He caught sight of her a few metres away, standing quietly, her face turned so he could not see her features. She was in a polar white dress that reached her knees, contrasting with her tanned skin, and a satin belt that wrapped around her waist before settling into a big bow from behind. A wreath of beautifully scented flowers decorated her fine brown hair that brushed her elbows. She was barefoot, but even so, she was the most beautiful girl Kai had laid eyes on.

He neared her and she let out a laugh, soft and sweet, before spinning lightly on her toes and disappearing into the next cloud of bushes and trees.

It kept going like this, he following her, desperately trying to catch up, and she waiting before taking off again. He could barely hear her over the crunching of leaves under his feet, but he knew she was calling his name. _Kai. Kai. _Over and over again. It was as if he was entranced by her voice, that he kept running, unaware of anything around him, only focused on reaching her, on settling his eyes upon her. He came to a stop as he entered a clearing, bending over to catch his breath.

The grass sparkled with dew and the trees swayed gently. The moonlight danced on the ocean surface before him and the stars shimmered on the surface. The place looked beautiful, almost magical. Something caught his attention in the middle of the clearing and he straightened.

She was there, facing him with her head bowed, her hands hanging limp by her sides. Rays of moonlight shone around her, and she looked almost like an angel amidst the darkness. He inched towards her fearful that she might take off again, but she didn't move. He stopped right in front of her and finally she spoke, her honey voice sweet and calm.

'Kai,' she whispered before she raised her head and looked him in the eyes.  
Kai gasped, his eyes widening at the sight before him. Her warm brown eyes looked at him innocently but he was frozen to the spot as he registered her appearance. He tried to speak, but his voice was non-existent.

He ached to reach out and touch her, hug her, call her name, but he was paralysed to the spot. She reached out to him, and touched his cheek, drawing small contours with her finger.  
'Kai,' she whispered again. It seemed as though her voice had given him enough power to break out of his trance.

'Selene,' he murmured, as he reached forward and brushed her lips with his fingers.  
And then she vanished and he was plunged into a void of darkness.

Kai woke with a start. He was gasping for air as if he'd run miles and sweat beaded his arms and face. He raked a hand through his tousled hair, finally regaining control of his ragged breathing. Her image was still fresh in his mind as he sat up and pulled the first shirt he could find on.

He heard the pinging sound of his portscreen and reached to take it from his bedside table. _Press Conference was supposed to start a few minutes ago. Where are you?! _Kai internally kicked himself. He'd been in such a deep sleep he hadn't heard the numerous comms Torin had sent him. Combing his hair as best he could with his fingers, he ran towards the press conference room.

'I thank you all for patiently waiting for this conference to start.' Kai stood behind the podium, camera flashes blinding him as a crowd of journalists waited for him to continue.  
'The reason I called you all here today was because the palace has organised a party to commemorate my 22nd birthday,' Kai continued in a monotonous tone.

More flashes reflected off the flag behind him. 'All Union leaders have been invited and all of them will be in attendance,' he paused to let what he just said sink in before continuing, 'including Queen Selene Of Luna.' The moment the words left his mouth, he heard a collective gasp from the journalists. Kai knew they weren't expecting such a turn of events since Selene hadn't found much interest in coming to Earth. He waited for the murmur of voices to dissipate into the air.

'I am unaware of when they decide to arrive, but it will be noted if any of them arrive earlier than expected. Invitations will be sent out with the necessity that anyone attending will need to confirm before the given date. Any more details can be found via the link on your portscreens or by sending a comm to the palace. I will not be taking any questions today. Thank you.'

Kai slipped off the podium as questions erupted from journalists regardless and the press secretary took over trying to calm the boisterous crowd of journalists and attendees, all vying for answers.

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**Thank you for taking your time to continue reading!  
I really do hope you liked it,**

**Arya **


	3. An eye for an eye

**Sorry for not updating sooner but I had so many assignments and things going on, I only had the few minutes of each period at school to complete this.  
Enjoy!**

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She remembered the fateful night as if it had committed itself to her memory. She remembered the screams that tore through the silence of the darkness, the blood that stained the floor and the loss that came with it. That horror-filled night had ripped her world into pieces like a mirror shattering into a million fractals.

And it was that entire wretched Queen's fault.  
The Queen that everyone thought of as their saviour, she thought of as her enemy.  
The Queen that everyone wanted to be like, she wanted to destroy.  
And she would. She just had to wait for the right time.  
And the Emperor had given her the perfect chance.

_All Union leaders will be attending including Queen Selene of Luna. _The words hung in the silence of the room as she pulled her hair into a bun. _Including Queen Selene of Luna. _She had smiled at those words; a bitter smirk twisted with revenge and hatred. She had days to prepare the Queen's fate knowing that she would stay for a day or two after the party, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that the Queen would be here, in the very Commonwealth, vulnerable and weak, just as she, herself, had once been on that night.

Gathering her work tools and slipping them into her bag, she glanced at the digital frame that hung on the wall. The images came and went; pictures of her smiling and laughing with the people she loved most. Pictures of her loved ones, enjoying their life.  
Pictures of the dead.

Gritting her teeth, she closed the video of the press conference on her portscreen and shuffled out the door. Today she would start work on her devious plan.  
Today, she would start work on the Queen's new nightmare.  
And she knew just how to do it.  
And just where to strike.

* * *

The days came and went and April 7th grew nearer. And as those days passed, she'd worked harder and harder. In the secrecy of the nights, she'd slipped unnoticed to her work spot, mixing chemicals and samples, experimenting and perfecting each and every one of them.

She carried herself with a new sort of pride; one of achievement and, soon, victory. People noticed her change, but no one dared to ask. They seemed to think it was because she had gotten over her loved ones' passing. But they were wrong. Oh, so wrong. She had never and would never, get over that. She paid close attention to the palace's updates on the function and read through all the gossip columns regarding the Luna Queen; something she never did.

And as the night of the 6th fell into place, she had finished. She looked at the final product in her hands, glossy and beautiful. She never would have thought gossip columns had the potential to give revenge a simpler path than outright offense. Sitting on her bed, she watched as the anchorman on her room's netscreen mumbled on about how the Luna Queen was set to arrive tonight. Pictures of the media lined around the docking place of the New Beijing palace enlarged behind him and various close ups of the Emperor dominated the screens.

Everyone was contemplating as to how he would react to the appearance of his "friend" as they liked to hint out. Talk spread of all the possible romance stories of the Queen and Emperor like wildfire. She took in the Emperor's appearance. Dressed casually in black pants and a white overcoat that looked more like a jacket, his hair was tousled from the breeze and the many times he'd raked his hands through his hair. Apparently the Queen had insisted he not wear anything too formal. Torin, his royal advisor, stood beside him and they were talking in low voices so the cameras wouldn't pick up on anything.

The Emperor seemed genuinely nervous, rocking back and forth on his heels, waiting for the Lunar spaceship to arrive. She pulled on a jacket and cuddled up in her quilts and waited and waited and waited for the ship to come.  
And she closed her eyes and waited.

Her eyes fluttered open to a humming noise from the netscreens. Flinging herself into a sitting position, she watched as the Lunar spaceship descended onto the landing dock, landing with a soft thud. She nodded, impressed; hardly any professional pilot could land with such precision as this pilot had just done. The tiny gems that were encrusted upon the exterior surface of the ship glinted and sparkled in the moonlight.

She caught sight of the Emperor rubbing his hands together. He looked extremely tense and she remembered all the discussions on his feelings for the Lunar Queen. They were more speculations but she thought it was quite obvious he did have something for her, however small it may have been. A slight pang of jealousy burned in her. Why did the Lunar Queen have loved ones who were so anxious to see her when she had none? Her loved ones had died because of that Queen. It wasn't fair. But she found herself smiling. It soon would be fair.  
An eye for an eye. Wasn't that how the saying went?

The ramp of the ship opened and everyone craned their necks to get the first look at the Queen. To their dismay however, a few guards came out instead. She recognised the two in charge from years of watching them be the bodyguards of the Queen; Ze'ev Kesley, the captain of all the mutated wolves guards and the shell guards, and Jacin Clay, the captain of the guard for the usual royal Lunar guards. Queen Selene had insisted that the shells and mutated guards be in a separate squad from the normal guards because they required different training. They lined the ramp; Ze'ev and his few guards on the left and Jacin and his squad on the right.

She also recognised the Queen's programmer and the shell representative, Crescent Moon Darnel, and Carswell Thorne, who she remembered was in charge of all spaceships and travel on Luna. She watched as they were greeted by the Emperor and advisor, shaking hands and smiling. Scarlet Benoit, Royal Lunar advisor, came next. She didn't understand why she was the advisor, considering she wasn't even Lunar, but the Queen persevered. Princess Winter came beside her, floating gracefully towards the Emperor who greeted them both with smiles and an easy laugh. She gritted her teeth in annoyance. Why was the Queen taking so long?!

She saw the guards lining the ramp stiffen. The Emperor had his gaze set on the spaceship's door, his eyes widening in surprise. She set her eyes where he was looking and watched as Queen Selene stepped out onto the ramp. She analysed the Queen's appearance.

The Queen was dressed in a satin cream coloured dress. It started just below her shoulders, outlining her shape to a gold belt at her waist, before loosely flowing to the ground, the back trailing a bit longer behind her. Lace sleeves started past her shoulders and ended in a pointed shape at her knuckles. A slit that opened up at the front of her dress at knee-length revealed a bit of her leg as she walked. Her cream coloured heels tapped against the metal of the ramp. A few small golden flowers pinched strands of her hair together, leaving the rest to flow down in waves.

Queen Selene took her time with each step, her gaze flickering over the media and the docking place, before landing on Emperor Kaito. The Queen nodded in greeting at his advisor, who bowed to her as she came to a stop in front of them. It was only then, looking at the Emperor and the Queen standing face to face, that she realised just how tall the Emperor was. The Queen's forehead was parallel to his lips and considering that she was wearing heels, he must've been at least a head and a bit taller than her.

Giving her a quick bow as his advisor had done, the Emperor took her right hand and brushed a kiss against it. He kissed it for a second too long and when he stood straight again, their hands remained intertwined for another moment before they fell back to their respective sides.

She turned away from the netscreen, clenching her fists. It was unbearable to watch them even at a distance. That Queen deserved no one! In a spite of anger, she shrieked for the screen to switch off.  
She would have her revenge.  
That Queen would pay for what happened.  
In the same way she, herself, had paid.

* * *

**Sorry if it got a bit too confusing with the 'she' since there was both the Queen and the girl here who I used that for. But hopefully it wasn't too difficult in identifying which was for which.  
Thanks for reading it though!**

**Arya **


	4. A Reunion Under The Night Sky

**My edits only began after chapter three, so the first three chapters remain untouched and only this chapter and the next one were the ones that were edited. **

**So after editing and proofreading chapters 3 and 4, I ended up with this as the final copy… **

**Sorry for that inconvenience of having to re-read this, but I hope my writing was at least a bit better than before.**

* * *

Stars, he looked handsome.

He was a few feet away from the ramp, his hair being ruffled by the wind, his hands calmly placed in his pocket. He was dressed in simple attire, just like Cinder had asked him to; but even so, he still looked like the teen heartthrob she so often saw on the netscreens. Her eyes darted to the cameras around her and the journalists hungry to capture every bit of their reunion.

After all, she hadn't seen him in years.

Beside Kai, his royal advisor, Torin, gave her a low bow. She nodded in his direction, but Kai quickly caught her attention again as he followed suite, brushing a long kiss against her hand. Their hands remained intertwined for another moment before dropping back to their respective sides.

'Welcome back to the Eastern Commonwealth,' Kai said, smiling. 'Perhaps we should go inside. It's getting dark.'  
'That would be lovely,' Cinder replied, before she stepped aside to let Winter and the others follow Torin to the elevator bank. Kai and Cinder followed after.

The elevator ride reminded Cinder of the time it were just her and Kai, back when she was no more than a lab rat for Dr Erland, and he the ever-so charming prince. He was close to kissing her then, so close to kissing her, but then the pain had exploded in her and she was sent gasping for air in his arms on the elevator floor. He still wouldn't tell her what he saw that day, in the elevator, but she suspected it had been her glamour.

The elevator doors opened and they walked out single-file. The walk was like a funeral procession; no one talked or smiled, just placidly followed one another eager to close their eyes and rest their heads. It had been a long night for them all.

Nothing in the palace had really changed since her last visit; ancient historic statues still lined the hallways, the red carpets with their golden designs still looked the same and the ceiling-to-floor windows showed the ever-beautiful Commonwealth extending as far as the eye could see.

'Here we are.' Torin's voice broke her trail of thoughts as they entered the hallway in the guest wing. He gestured towards the first few set of doors and her friends thanked him graciously as they made their way to their rooms.  
'Thank you for accommodating us so wonderfully given that it is late at night,' Scarlet told her fellow advisor before disappearing into a room with Wolf behind her. It was only seeing Scarlet and Wolf disappear into their room that she remembered they were married. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact, even after almost a year.

She mumbled a thank you to Torin once again before taking the last room. The room wasn't like her chambers in Luna but it was good enough for her taste. After all, anything was better than the tiny old room she'd lived most her life in under Adri's care. The bed was in the centre with curtains draping over it for privacy. A large ceiling-to-floor window was set to the right wall and a dressing table was set to the left with a large mirror beside it. A door near to her opened up into an en-suite bathroom.

She dreamt that she was in a room. It felt more like a furnace with the metal walls glowing red with heat from the flames that danced around her. Embers shot up into the air above her, but none touched her. _Yet_. The flames grew bigger, stronger and hotter. They towered over her, threatening to consumer her within seconds. But it wasn't the flames that were bothering her so much; rather it was what they contained in them.

Pictures shimmered on each flame, each with a different horror tale to tell. One had Scarlet laying on the floor, slumped over a large boulder with blood trickling down her side. Another had Cress, falling to her death, her screams filling Cinder's ears. Cinder tried to reach out, to grab hold of her, but she couldn't move, couldn't reach. Cress dissolved into the blackness. The others followed, each in a different flame inching closer to her; Thorne being shot, his body convulsing, Jacin being stabbed, the blood sprouting out, Winter going insane, tearing her own flesh apart and Wolf, his howls ear-piercing as he disappeared under a pack of hungry wolves.

She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came, only a hoarse sob.  
'No, no, no,' she whispered, reaching out to try grab at her friends, but the flames pounced onto her and her flesh burned on impact. She thrust her hand away, but it was too late.  
The flames advanced.

They climbed up her body; eating at her skin, melting her prosthetics, reducing her to ash. She tried desperately to disperse them, rolling around, rubbing at her arms, but they were in vain. Her friends' images screamed at her. But as the flames ate, she saw one more thing.  
Kai.  
He lay there in the very room, his head lulled to face her. His eyes were red and his skin pale. Blood covered the rest.

And the flames covered her and the world went dim.

She woke up on the floor, the quilt wrapped around her legs complexly. The air was humid and hot, but she dismissed it as her mind playing tricks and shut her eyes. She was still shaking when she sensed the bio-electricity of someone over her. She opened her eyes to be met with concerned copper eyes and black hair hanging unkemptly.  
'Hey,' Kai whispered pulling her into an embrace when she broke into a fit of tearless sobs. He rocked her back and forth, his lips pressed against her hair, occasionally murmuring reassurances.

'Were my screams that loud you heard from your bedroom?' She murmured when she had control of her emotions. He laughed and her heart warmed; his laugh had always been one of her favourite things about him.  
'I was passing the guest hallway when I heard you and I got worried so I came,' he said, standing up before helping her up. 'Shall we take a walk? Maybe it'll ease your mind.'  
She nodded, and let him lead her down the hallways and into the palace garden.

They stopped by the Koi pond, and she clambered onto the bench in front of it. She watched as the Koi fish swam about, slipping through the water plants occasionally coming to the surface in hopes she had food.  
'Even trapped by the walls of the pond, they look like they're free. I too wish to be like that one day; even with the walls around me, to be free from the nightmares and the troubles I carry,' she murmured.  
Kai moved to stand behind her and she turned so she was facing him, still standing on the bench on her knees. He slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her hair.  
'Was your nightmare about being trapped?' he whispered against her hair.  
She nodded, and in the silence of the night, told him.

It was like mindlessly speaking; letting your mind drift away to capture the memories while your heart took control and whispered on about the things that were locked up inside it for so long. And all that time she was murmuring, he stood there and listened patiently.  
And then he'd pulled her close, stroking her hair, his lips pressed against her head. It was moments like this when Cinder wished that time could stop and everyone could just disappear and it would only be the two of them. It would only be the two of them forever.  
But that was impossible.

He pulled away, just enough to look into her eyes and carried her off the bench, settling her on the floor. And before she knew it, they were dancing, talking and laughing, with only the starlight to guide them.

'And then Artemisia lights up in a splendour of luminescence; All the buildings have laser light projected on them that show the history of Luna in a series of pictures and motions; The streetlights constantly change colour as you walk past it and the paths themselves take on a new theme every year; And once you get to the palace courtyard the fountains there change colour every time they spurt water and sometimes the fountains make figures that move or dance using water and light. It's truly amazing!' As Cinder blabbered on about the annual festival Luna held in commemoration of her being crowned and a new future for the country, Kai listened patiently, asking questions from time to time before spinning her under his arm or dipping her low.  
'And Earth is getting hyped about a birthday party,' Kai mused aloud. Cinder laughed.

She felt herself come to a stop, and she found him looking at their feet and frowned.  
'Where are your shoes?'  
Cinder looked from her bare feet to his canvas shoes and back to her bare feet. She gave him a sheepish smile. 'I forgot them.'  
He shrugged and carried her off the ground and towards the door they'd come from. He set her down once they were inside and they made their way to the elevator bank. It was only now that Cinder realised just how tired she was and she could see Kai was also feeling sleepy as he rubbed his eyes.

They slipped into the elevator together and she leaned on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her waist. The doors began to close, but then stopped midway.  
_Please hold._  
The android's voice pierced the silence and Cinder could see the disappointment in Kai's eyes of not being the only ones in the elevator. He groaned and let go of her and she slipped to a respective distance.

Within a few seconds, a girl, who looked about the same age as Cinder, shuffled in. She was a palace researcher; Cinder could tell from the lab coat she was wearing.  
'I'm sorry for keeping you wai-' she paused as her emerald eyes darted from the Luna queen to the Commonwealth emperor standing before her. The elevator doors closed.  
'Y-Y-Your Majesties,' she stammered, bending into a quick bow, her hands still clutching the various files she was holding. Kai nodded at her as she straightened.

The girl tucked a strand of her wavy caramel hair behind her ear.  
'Why are you up so late at night?' Kai asked, flashing his signature smile at her. Cinder rolled her eyes; count on Kai to send every girl in a frenzy of trying to impress. She fiddled with her files for a moment before meeting his gaze.  
'I-I was umm…I was just filing some documents and making sure all the lab rooms were locked.'

Her eyes took in Cinder, short gown, barefoot and all. For a rare moment, Cinder was glad she couldn't blush. She observed the girl as her eyes went from Cinder to Kai as if trying to figure out why they were awake. Awake, together and alone. She was just about to make up an excuse for the girl when Kai interrupted.  
'I was showing Her Majesty around the palace to refresh her memory on where everything was,' Kai lied. The girl nodded furiously.  
'Of course,' she smiled.  
The elevator stopped at the guest wing and the doors opened. Excusing themselves quickly, Cinder and Kai hurried out, leaving the girl to stare at them as the doors closed.

She went into the en-suite bathroom of her room to wash her feet and when she came out she saw Kai fixing the bed's quilts. She murmured a thank you and walked to the side of the bed. Kai followed behind her. She had expected him to have left by now considering the tired state he was in, but instead he just slipped into the bed beside her. She raised an eyebrow but even so she internally smiled; she wanted him to stay with her for as long as he could. He shrugged and pulled her closer.

Cinder pressed her face against his shirt and the smell of cologne filled her nose. They lay still for a while, with her lost in his shirt and he with his lips planted on her hair. Cinder could feel his breaths travelling down her neck as his lips brushed her ear.  
'Stars…you're not glamouring me are you?' he whispered.  
Cinder frowned. 'No, of course not.'  
He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes as if to make sure she was telling the truth. His gaze lingered for a moment, lost in thought. And without a second's hesitation, he leaned forward and planted his lips on hers. She whimpered lightly on impact, but soon her arms had made their way around his neck and his to her waist and they lay there in the still darkness.

His lips felt cool and she could taste a hint of mint, probably from dinner. His hands tightened securely around her waist as if he were scared she'd vanish in a moment's breath. Cinder pulled away, but only managed a small breath before Kai filled the space again. She could feel his lips pressing harder against hers, hungry for the pleasure it brought him. The clock made a loud ticking noise as its hands struck to the number twelve. She pulled away.

'Happy Birthday,' she whispered against his lips.

* * *

**It was mostly just rewording and merging with only a few things changed. **

**If you're curious about what I meant about the luminescent displays and stuff, I took inspiration from something called Vivid Sydney. So if you want to see what it looks like, just search vivid (and the water figure stuff is called the aquatique within Vivid).**

**Thank you so much for your patience!**


	5. The Fateful Night

**And the final editing I did for the last two chapters that were updated (which includes the one I took off before)**

**Thank you for bearing with me!**

* * *

All eyes were set on the Lunar queen as she descended down the flight of stairs into the ballroom. Her gaze was set on the floor, the light reflecting off the glitter and flowers that decorated her wavy flowing hair, like a galaxy of stars and planets. Her watermelon-coloured dress settled on the floor, ruffling as she walked. Her shoulders were left exposed, the bell sleeves starting just under her shoulders and ending at her knuckles with a cuff of gold. A golden crystal floral appliqué belt found its way around her waist where two long sheets of material started, coming to hang loosely over the actual dress, and parting when she walked. Her watermelon-coloured heels tapped against the steps. Though she walked with an aura of grace and elegance she walked with the posture of a person of power.

In other words, she was beautiful.

She came to stand beside Kai as the other Union leaders pounced on her with flatter and the cameras flashed around her.  
'Well don't you look lovely today,' Prime Minister Kamin's voice rang out.  
'As always. She really does have a wonderful sense of fashion,' Prime Minister Bromstad smiled.  
Kai had read the many gossip columns about the Lunar queen in his spare time; it was the only thing that kept him updated about her when they went for weeks without talking, which was too often. The columns mostly always targeted her fashion sense; there had been a time when she was criticised for her clothes. Now she was being praised for it. Kai couldn't help but smile.

Kai caught Camilla's envious glare headed towards Cinder as she came to stand on the other side of the Lunar queen. Cinder was taller than her by quite a bit and her face looked genuinely youthful, unlike Camilla's who'd suffered several plastic surgery operations. Kai couldn't help but notice how much Cinder had changed, not only in looks but the way she carried herself; strong and demurely; and the way she spoke; soft and sweet, yet wise and powerful.

'Thank you. I will be sure to tell my designer of your kind words. She will be truly flattered,' Cinder smiled.  
'The most beautiful woman in the room, don't you think Camilla?' Kai mused and he could see the England queen's nostrils flaring.  
'Oh yes. Her Majesty never seems to fail at looking her best,' Camilla's forced kind words rolled out monotonously.  
Cinder gave Kai a glare of disapproval, but behind it was a smile Kai knew would be there; they often spent nights laughing about the Queen's jealousy.

The music began to fill Kai's ears and all the male Union leaders looked at one another telepathically telling the others to back off. Hands shot out toward Cinder and for a moment she looked startled and uncomfortable. She took a step back to survey the hands.  
'It will be an honour, Your Majesty,' Bromstad said, his lips quirking into a flirtatious smile that was perhaps a bit too unsettling for Queen Selene given his age.  
'I am sure Her Majesty would love to dance with me!' Williams interrupted, coaxing her with a wave of his hand. Kai gave them both disgruntled looks, mixing in a bit of disgust.

Who were _they _to ruin _his_ night?

Kai's hand was the only one that remained at a respectful distance. Around them, spectators looked on and Kai caught a few whispers, perhaps betting on whose hand Cinder would take. Journalists tapped furiously at their portscreens to document what was happening, others taking the pleasure of using cameras, no doubt zooming into the hands. Cinder looked a bit dishevelled from all the attention and the hands inching towards her, invading her personal space.

Kai cleared his throat. 'Perhaps,' he started, letting everyone's attention land on him before continuing, 'you should let Her Majesty decide without everyone yapping in her ear and jabbing her with hands.'  
He received a few hateful glares from the others, but they retracted their hands. Cinder shot him a thank you smile, before inching towards Kai. He held out his hand and she took it.

'Just this once Emperor,' she said a bit sterner than he'd expected. 'Birthday boy privileges.'  
He smirked as he led her away from the crowd, and he was sure he saw a few disappointed looks from guests who'd probably lost their bets.

The hall was soon busy with fluttering gowns and tailcoats as partners danced their way around the room. Cameras still flashed around Kai and Cinder, and the few girls that weren't dancing were watching in awe, as Cinder's hair sparkled with glitter. Kai knew he was staring at her intently, but he couldn't help it. She was the very definition of perfection in his eyes, if not everyone else's. Cinder hummed a few bars from the melody the orchestra were playing and sang a few words.

'When did you learn to sing?' he asked, before spinning her under his arm.  
'Winter and Cress. They often sang when we took walks around Artemisia,' Cinder replied, before singing a few notes, her melodious voice drifting through the atmosphere.

'You're beautiful.'  
Cinder looked up at his random comment even though it was in a low voice so the cameras didn't pick up.  
'You're beautiful. Always was, always is,' he repeated, dipping her low.  
'I don't think a rain soaked cyborg is the common definition of beautiful,' she murmured and he knew they were both remembering the time she'd danced with him at the 126th annual peace ball, earning very envious and distasteful stares. He laughed.  
'Who cares about common? You're my definition of beautiful. No matter what you look like, mechanic or queen, you're _my_ definition of perfection.' He knew it sounded cheesy and he knew she was partially unconvinced from the soft laugh that escaped her lips.

They danced a few steps before Cinder's arms found their way around his neck. He slipped his arms around her waist and he was tempted, oh so tempted, to close the space. But he didn't, so they danced a bit more.  
'It's been a long time since I've been here,' Cinder mused as she looked around and up towards the ceiling. 'Oh, a new chandelier!'  
Kai smirked.' Yeah. Took a while to build this one to replace the chandelier you shattered that night.'  
She pouted innocently as if to convince him it wasn't her fault. He laughed, before they returned to their respective dance positions.  
'This one's better anyway,' she muttered. 'The old one looked like it was some cannonball.'

The crowds parted for them as they made their way around the room, some cheering and others clapping. They were at the centre of the room now, and they danced a few more steps before Kai slipped his arm around her waist once more and lifted her up off the floor, spinning her in the air, before bringing her back down. She spun under his arms the minute her feet touched the floor and then he pulled her close. So close, he could've closed the gap between them with a millimetre movement. As if on cue to their dancing the instruments wrapped up the tune and they slipped out of each other's embrace.

Around them, claps and whistles erupted. Kai gave her a bow and she laughed, giving in with a small curtsy. He brushed a kiss against her hand as he came back up, before he gestured towards the side of the hall where her friends were watching on.  
Together they walked to the side of the hall, leaving others to take up the dancing.

'That. Was. Beautiful,' Iko, who'd come to join them when the ship with the cures came in the morning, squealed in her feminine mechanical voice.  
Cress nodded in enthusiasm, taking on the fan-girling. 'I'm pretty sure there'll be lots of talk about you two!'  
Scarlet gave Cinder a quick hug and Thorne whistled, nudging her in the ribs.  
'You, my dear, are one hell of a cyborg queen!' he cooed.  
'I'm going to take a walk around with Kai,' she murmured in Scarlet's ear amidst their embrace.  
'Sure, just be careful. If you need guards or something comm one of us. We'll be right here,' Scarlet replied, pressing a small kiss against Cinder's cheek.

They walked beside the tables filled with food from the various provinces of the Commonwealth; samosas and spring rolls, seafood and rice and desserts and fruits from the best orchids and at the outskirts of New Beijing. The aromas from each plate, spicy and sweet, filled the air, tempting guests to try them. Cinder pointed at different things, asking about what they had in them and when he replied, her confused look would be replaced with excitement. As they neared the table with fruits, Cinder quickened her pace to a plate of apples placed in a way they made the shape of a tree.

'They look so sweet,' she murmured, eyeing them with a canny sense of enthusiasm. 'I've grown a liking to Lunar apples but how different could these ones be? I haven't had an earthen one in a long time.'  
Kai watched as she pushed a few strands of her out of her face, tapping her heels on the tiles as if trying hard to decide which one she wanted. Kai fished out a small one which caught the light on its surface. He examined it quickly to make sure it was perfect before handing it to her. She took it with a mumbled thank you and held it in her cupped hands before taking a small bite into it. He watched as her face went from serious as she let the taste sink in, to delight as the juices settled on her tongue.

She held it out to him like a peace offering. He accepted it, studying it in his hands; it had a glossy red surface like it had been polished to the best of ability and it was round enough to be able to roll around easily. He took a bite from the opposite side to where she had, though he probably would've gone to the same side if they weren't being publicly watched. The taste was almost instant.  
The juice settled on his tongue, sweet like honey, and the pieces were crunchy and smooth.  
'It's really nice isn't it? _Almost_ better than lunar ones,' Cinder murmured as she watched him, scrutinising his face to see any distaste for her beloved fruit.  
He nodded, but stopped midway.

As he swallowed, he felt a new substance. Not smooth and crunchy like the pieces nor sweet and quenching like the juice. Rather it was syrupy and slimy, with parts of sourness and bitterness here and there.  
He frowned.  
That shouldn't have been there.  
No apple he'd ever eaten had syrup like that. He looked at the apple in his hands, and a sudden bout of nausea hit him. His face must've turned pale for he saw Cinder looking at him with a fearful concerned expression. Her image became blurry and he stumbled. He felt arms latch around him to steady him.

_Kai_. _Kai_. _Kai_.

His name, over and over again, but the voice seemed distant, like all the noises of the hall were being sucked into a black hole. He felt himself fall, felt his body hit the ground, felt the apple roll away from his grasp. His vision was getting worse, dots coming into view, overlapping one another. The noise was completely drowned out, only silence remained. The colour had drained too; he shut his eyes in a desperate attempt to orientate himself, with no luck.

He felt a sudden spike of heat and felt himself sweating, the sweat trickling down his face and arms. He felt a burst of pain. Forcing his eyes open, his sight caught onto one thing, amidst the blurry scene.

A sickening blue splotch.

His world turned over.

He'd seen that very splotch appear on far too many people; he'd seen it on his mother, he'd seen it on his father, he'd seen it on countless people. Countless citizens.

_Letumosis._

The word hung in the air like a bullet piercing the atmosphere.

The world spun. He felt himself drifting farther and farther away.

And he felt himself falling into an endless void of darkness.

* * *

**Thank you for reading and reviewing and thank you so much for being patient and bearing with my edits and proofreads. I'll make it up to you with, hopefully, another chapter by next week. **


	6. The Antidote

**If you didn't catch my previous note, I had edited all the chapters after chapter three to form the new chapter four and five-so you may need to skim through it again before reading on as I've changed a few thing around. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

* * *

She was aware that Wolf, Thorne and Jacin were pushing the panicking crowd backwards and ordering cameras to be switched off. She was aware of Cress and Winter rushing out to get the doctors and Torin. She was aware of Scarlet and Iko lingering behind her, calling her name.  
But she didn't care.  
Rather, her focus was pinned to the blue blemish that had appeared on Kai's wrist.

Letumosis.

Her hand automatically went to her neck, where she always kept a vial of the cure in case one of them got infected. But her hand only found cold skin and she remembered, with a sudden sickening twist of her stomach, that she'd left it in her room while getting ready for the party.  
'The cure, it's in my room!' She croaked, her voice hoarse and low.  
Behind her, Scarlet squeezed her shoulders. 'It's okay, Winter went to get the doctors. They'll have one.

Within moments of Scarlet speaking, a doctor and two lab assistants came rushing in with a few med-droids behind them. Cinder tilted Kai's head back on her lap as the doctor retrieved a vial from a med-droid and gave Kai the necessary amount.

They waited.

Kai groaned, his hands slipping to clutch his stomach. He tried to sit up, but fell back down on Cinder's lap.  
'Please don't,' cinder murmured in his ear. A painful gasp escaped his lips. But it was lost in the horrified gasps that were let out by the doctor and spectators. Another splotch appeared on Kai's arm. And then another and another until both his arms were covered in blue spots.  
'What on Earth?!Why isn't the-' the doctor cried, before turning to the med-droids. 'Take him to the quarantine room on level 7 of the palace's research wing.'

The med-droids set to work, carrying Kai onto a stretcher and within minutes, he was being rolled out of the room.  
Cinder was about to follow, when the doctor stopped her.  
'Your Majesty, would you mind going with the lab assistants so they can test you just to make sure and find out what exactly happened?'  
'Why didn't the cure work?' It was the only thing Cinder could think of.  
The doctor's face was grave when he answered. 'I don't know.'

To anyone who saw the Lunar queen sitting on the exam table, she was a picture of ethereal beauty, sitting calmly while she waited for the results to come in. But she was not sitting calmly. No. Rather she was clenching her fists, imagining wringing the neck of whoever had done this.

Because she knew someone had done this. She just didn't know who.

Scarlet paced the lab room; table to door, door to table; anxiously waiting for the lab assistants to return from their study of the tests they ran on Cinder. Scarlet was the only one with her; Winter and Cress were busy receiving comms from Luna, explaining what had happened. Jacin and Wolf were guarding the door outside, to stop any prying eyes from looking in. Thorne and Iko were helping authorities with their investigations, telling them what they'd seen and helping them talk to witnesses and distressed citizens.

The door opened and Li and Fateen walked in, deep in conversation.  
'Well?' Scarlet asked as they neared the exam table.  
Li, who was a little shorter than Fateen, spoke first. 'It appears, Your Majesty, that this is a rare case of Letumosis.'  
'A rare case of Letumosis? Isn't there only one case of Letumosis?' Scarlet asked once she realised Cinder wasn't going to be talking.

'You see, the pathogens look almost identical to the original and mutated strain that hit us years ago. However, when you look closely at their internal make-up, they do have some differences. It appears that this strain of Letumosis was designed to take a rapid start but a slower overall approach and a more painful one, which explains why His Majesty instantly fell ill,' Li explained.  
'So why didn't the cure work?' Cinder asked her voice low.

The question hung in the silence. _Why hadn't the cure worked?_

Fateen cleared her throat. 'Maybe the concentration wasn't enough or the dosage was too low? We can't be sure at this point but they'll be giving him a more enhanced version of the antidote. This new strain also affects everyone, even Lunars, just like the first mutation of Letumosis.'  
'So why didn't it affect Selene?' Scarlet asked, coming to sit beside Cinder on the exam table.

'Our only theory for now is that it didn't affect Her Majesty because she wasn't exposed to Letumosis like the other Lunars were as a means of getting the disease to Earth and the first case of Letumosis was recorded in 114 T.E, two years after Her Majesty was brought to Earth. Rather she naturally caught it and managed to fight it off several times and had also come in contact with this mutation and managed to fight it off. So for now, she's the only one who's immune,' Li explained.

'When I find out who did this, I'm going to feed them their own poison.'  
All eyes were on the Lunar queen, their faces mirroring each other's expressions of surprise. They clearly hadn't expected her first comment to be so vicious.  
'You can't jump to such large conclusions. Perhaps the Letumosis pathogens made their way into the apples while being delivered,' Scarlet said slowly.  
Cinder shook her head. 'Someone put it in those apples and someone was targeting me. It makes sense does it not?'

Scarlet put her hands on her hips and frowned, before turning to Li and Fateen. 'Well?'  
Fateen cleared her throat, pushing her black braided hair behind her back. 'I'm afraid Her Majesty is right. There is no way Letumosis could mutate into something like that without it being modified in a laboratory. Also, Letumosis doesn't live long without a human host, yet this managed to survive in apples for who knows how long. Someone did create it and with the intention to target someone, but at this point we can't say how they did it or who did it.'

Fateen's words,the harsh truth, hung in the air, settling slowly and painfully.  
Someone had deliberately put it in those apples. Someone had been targeting a specific person. And Cinder had no doubt it was her. There was no denying it. Cinder had walked into the trap, and Kai was paying for her foolishness.

Cinder and Scarlet entered the royal quarantine's visiting area. They would've been here earlier, but Scarlet had forced Cinder to change.  
'What if the pathogens are still there? Just to be sure,' Scarlet had said.  
Cinder had hastily changed into a black knee-length dress with long bell sleeves. Black socks covered the rest of her legs and ballet flats of equal colour covered her feet.

She made her way to the glass screen that separated Kai's quarantine room to the sitting room mindlessly. Torin, who'd been sitting in one of the chairs with his face in his hands, looked up startled. He stood to greet Scarlet. Cinder pressed her hands against the glass panel. Kai was asleep, his face serene and innocent. His arms were covered in blisters and Cinder knew it would only be a matter of time until everything else was covered too. A med-droid was wiping the sweat off his face before placing a hot damp towel over his forehead.

The quarantine room was similar to the way Kai's father had it; the many screens for the purpose of entertainment, the many picturesque flowers that decorated the tables, the small picture frame on the bedside with pictures of his father, his mother and he. The bed was dressed in the finest fabrics. It was a room comfortable enough for an emperor.  
A dying emperor in this case.

She felt the bioelectricity of Kai's royal advisor, Torin, and Scarlet on either side of her.  
'He's been asleep ever since they took the blood sample,' Torin's voice was low but comforting. He'd been through the empress and the emperor passing from Letumosis. He knew what it was like, he knew what would happen. Now he was going through Kai, and Cinder knew if anyone knew how she felt in the slightest it was he, who had been with Kai for so long; he'd watched him speak his first word, watched him grow and learn, watched him in the happy times and the sad.  
And now he was watching him dying.

Cinder nodded numbly. She felt a hand on her shoulder.  
'He'll be alright. Maybe they just need to re-concentrate the cure or get a larger dosage like Fateen said. It'll be fine.' Scarlet's voice filled her ears, soft reassurances that filled her with hope.  
Yes, that was it; they just needed a stronger dosage. Everything would be alright.

They sat in the room; Scarlet and Cinder; watching Kai as he slept, his chest slowly rising and falling. It had been an hour since Torin had left with the security chairman, Huy Dershal, to oversee the investigations at the orchids that supplied the apples and the kitchens, and still no one had come with new information. Her head was resting on Scarlet's shoulder and Scarlet was stroking her hair, murmuring small things that happened in the day; Luna's daily news, the ball events, how impressing her dancing with Kai was.

'Cinder...'  
Kai's low breathless voice interrupted the momentary silence. Cinder jumped up and raced to the glass screen. Kai was peering up at her from under the blankets, trying to make sense of his surroundings.  
'Do you want a moment?' Scarlet asked from behind her, watching as Cinder made her way to the door that linked the two rooms. 'Cinder, you shouldn't-'  
'I'm immune,' Cinder said sternly- no one was going to stop her from being with him when she could.

And Scarlet knew she couldn't argue; when Cinder's mind was determined to do something, no one could stand in her way. Scarlet watched her swipe her wrist, where a new ID chip had been put, against the scanner ID. The scanner flashed green and Cinder slipped through the door. She watched Scarlet disappear out of the room and close the door.

In moments, she was pressed against his chest, her emotions flowing out of her like a waterfall. Kai's hands were gripping her tightly; one lost in her hair, the other around her waist. Her hands cupped his face, her forehead pressed against his.  
'I'm so sorry. If I hadn't been so excited...I'm so sorry. You were...you were unconscious. Oh Kai, I was so scared-' but Cinder's rambling was cut off as he placed a trembling finger to her lips.  
'Shhh...Shhh,' he whispered. Then he seemed to realise that she was him. And he had Letumosis. He jerked away, panting at the sudden movement of his joints. 'Why...you shouldn't be here...what if you catch it...' He shooed her away with his hand.

She laughed lightly and, taking his hand in hers, guided them to their former place in her hair and on her waist.  
'Stars don't move so suddenly. I'm immune, so don't worry. I'll take care of you until then,' she smiled at him as he relaxed, closing his eyes to her touch.  
Cinder pressed her forehead to his and told him of what happened afterwards; how they took him away and the tests they ran on her; the apple and the new strain of Letumosis.

'But it'll be okay. They're working around the clock for more information and they're already investigating as to how the apples got infected. I promise, you'll be okay. I prom-' but Cinder was interrupted as Kai closed the gap.  
His lips were hot but Cinder didn't care. She let him linger, let him pull away for a breath before lingering again. She let him draw small circles with his finger on her thigh. She held him in her arms until he fell asleep.

She watched him for a few moments as he slept; his small breaths coming in and out of his mouth and he looked almost like a small child sleeping in a mother's embrace. She lay him back down on the pillows and set his blankets properly, kissing his forehead before getting up to leave.

But just as she left, she saw his lips twitch into the faintest of smiles.

She slipped into the adjoined bathroom of the quarantine room's visiting room but not without calling a med-droid to take care of Kai. She took a quick shower knowing Scarlet would make her, and to make sure that no pathogens remained on her. Changing into a long navy dress she'd asked a random android to retrieve for her, she walked into the visiting room to be met with Scarlet, Torin and the head doctor who'd given Kai the antidote.

'There you are!' Scarlet cried bundling Cinder into a long hug. 'I was worried for a minute.' But even with the relief in Scarlet's voice, Cinder could sense a hint of worry. 'Dr Daniel finished running a full analysis of the apple and the Letumosis pathogens that were inside,' Scarlet continued, moving to stand beside Cinder.  
'Well doctor?' Torin asked, turning to the man. The doctor wasn't old, but the stress and worry of the past hour had formed bags under his eyes and the hunched way he carried himself suggested just how weary he was.

_How weary they all were._

'I can confirm what Li and Fateen have theorised as concrete information,' Daniel said giving Cinder a quick bow. 'This strain of Letumosis is slow and painful and it will be very difficult to overcome for His Majesty. It would appear that this strain was also designed to use the cure as a means of accelerating and worsening its pain and effect.'

So the antidote?' Her tone must've been too hopeful, for when Scarlet, Torin and the doctor turned to her, their faces were melded into sympathetic and grave looks. They looked at one another, before the doctor took a tentative step toward her.

'There is none.'

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**I'd love to know your thoughts, so please review if you can~**

**Thank you,**

**Arya**


	7. True Colours

**I'm so sorry for the late update; I didn't get a chance to write much this week! **

**But here it is for you~**

* * *

Cinder and Scarlet slipped into their respective seats. All around them were The Eastern Commonwealth's cabinet members. Scarlet sought out her friend's faces; Wolf and Jacin were leaning against the wall near the door, surveying the room for any trouble. Wolf gave Scarlet a fleeting smile as her eyes passed over him. Thorne and Cress were seated opposite Scarlet and Winter, both looking weary from the long hours they spent negotiating and calming the Luna council and I Commonwealth cabinet members. Winter sat to Scarlet's left, twirling strands of hair in her fingers. Cinder claimed the seat to Scarlet's right, Torin seated beside her. The other Union leader's faces took up the screen's overhead.

'What a pleasure to have Her Majesty join us. I was beginning to think she wasn't coming. After all she doesn't normally do,' Camilla's voice was bitter as she eyed the Lunar queen who was quietly adjusting her long red dress to cover her feet. Most of the Union leaders were ticked at the fact the Lunar queen almost never attended meetings unless she had to.  
'And she has good reason for that,' Ariel, Cinder's head thaumaturge said sternly. Scarlet's gaze flew to the Lunar screen, where Ariel sat straighter than any of the other Union Leaders giving Camilla a disapproving glare. Scarlet had always believed Ariel to be one of the most beautiful people she'd seen; she had wavy ash blonde hair she almost always let flow down one shoulder and striking blue eyes that always seemed to change shades like a kaleidoscope.  
'And what reason is that?' Williams asked.

'I promised my people I would do what was necessary to return Luna to its former glory and am always caught up with Luna matters meaning I rarely make it to meetings. In saying that, I have faith and trust in my officials and representatives to carry out my orders and update me on such meetings.' Cinder's voice was low but she emphasised each word in that way she had of making everyone else feel insignificant, all while staring down at her hands.  
Kamin grunted most unladylike.  
Torin cleared his throat. 'Well she is here now, so shall we begin?'

'Continue actually,' Bromstad corrected as everyone's eyes turned to him. 'We were just talking about the incident at the party that was two nights ago before the Commonwealth and Luna decided to join us.'  
'So what have you gathered?' Torin asked in a tone that suggested he really didn't want to know- the Union leaders' speculations were mostly pathetic in his eyes.  
'Well...,' Camilla spoke slowly, 'we were just agreeing that...' She stopped and looked at the other Union leaders as if asking permission to continue.  
Scarlet noticed that the Union leaders were casting glances at Cinder before quickly averting their gazes.

'Wouldn't you say that it is rather coincidental that the night this happens is the night that the Luna queen makes her appearance in years?' Camilla said each word carefully, knowing that she and the other Union leaders were taking a very dangerous path.  
'Just what exactly are you trying to imply?' Scarlet asked. She had a feeling she knew where this was going, but she didn't want to believe it. There was a moment silence.  
'Wasn't it Lunars who plagued us with Letumosis? Weren't they the ones who made the very disease?' Kamin answered.  
Scarlet's face paled.

There was an outburst of protests from the Lunar screen. Scarlet could see the fury in their eyes. She met Cress' eyes from across the table and was met with eyes of disbelief and horror.  
'Stop it!' Scarlet had to shout to be heard over the ruckus. The noise drowned out. For the first time since they're entered, Scarlet saw Cinder lift her head. Her gaze swept past each of the Union leaders but her face was neutral, unpredictable.  
'So,' Cress said slowly raising her chin, 'you are accusing Queen Selene of being the offender?'  
'That is our theory,' Vargas said when no one else volunteered to speak.

There was another moment of silence while everyone adjusted. Scarlet stole a glance at Cinder who still had the neutral look plastered on her face. Scarlet feared she was going to lose it.  
'How could you even think that?' Winter's voice was low, but even then Scarlet could sense the disapproval. 'We would never do such a thing!'  
'The Lunar race is known for such offences! It was Lunars who manufactured Letumosis and brought it to Earth! Lunars have long since been known for their evil ways,' Camilla spat back.  
'You Lunars have been threatening to start a war for ages; generation after generation, you've tried to deem ways of getting the Commonwealth in your hands,' Williams continued.  
'You are far too cowardly to physically fight us! That is why you turn to such unethical ways like biological warfare.' Kamin took over the rant.

The speakers were filled with venomous accusations towards Luna. Torin was listening quietly, but the disapproval in his eyes was intense. The Luna screen was quiet but the spiteful looks that were coming from them suggested they were getting ready to lash out. From the corner of her eye, Scarlet could see Cinder clenching her fists.  
'That is quite enough,' Cinder screamed, shooting to her feet. Her fists remained clenched. 'I will not stand by and watch you accuse my country like that.'  
Bromstad raised his voice to intercept hers. 'And we will not stand by and watch you do what you like to ours!'

Cinder's head snapped towards him, but even then her voice was directed to them all. Her eyes blazed with anger.  
'Have you forgotten what was done for you when Luna signed the treaty of Bremen? Have you forgotten the countless lives we saved by distributing our antidote? The war we stopped and the fate we prevented that was to come to you? Luna has done everything it can to maintain peace with the Union! We've ensured all Lunars that leave the country have a bioelectricity block fitted in them until they come back, we built a city for any earthens who visit Luna to stay and that list goes on and on! So you are either too ignorant to accept that Luna is a peaceful ally or you are asking for me to take Luna out of the Union, which I won't hesitate to do. Cinder hissed, each word sinking in like a stab to the heart. The room remained silenced.

She turned on her heels and made her way to the door, her hair flowing behind her. But she stopped only long enough to hear Camilla's last comment.  
'You are just like Levana and Channary. It runs in your blood.'  
Cinder was shaking in rage. She looked about to say something, but then decided against it and stormed out.

When she was gone and the other Union leaders had cancelled their links, Cress turned towards the screen. 'We'll have a council meeting sometime tonight.'  
Ariel nodded and the screen went black.  
'You should go check on her,' Wolf whispered to Scarlet. 'That last comment was...'  
Scarlet didn't need him to continue. The last comment would surely have the most affect on Cinder.

Cinder didn't fear many things, but if there was one thing she feared the most, it was becoming like Levana.

Scarlet lay on the bed of Wolf and her guest room, turning her wedding ring in the palm of her hands. Wolf had a good taste in rings, or maybe he'd asked Cress for help; it was a beautiful silver ring with a heart-shaped ruby gem in the middle. The rest of the ring's surface was decorated in tiny engravings; a maglev train, a ship, a wolf, an opera house; all memories of their meeting and their journey together.

Wolf was pacing up and down the length of the room, his hands swaying in the way they did when he was ready to punch someone.  
'Who would've thought that the Union Leaders still had trust issues with Lunar,' he muttered as he came to lie down beside her. Scarlet traced the many scars on his arm and she heard him inhale sharply at the touch.  
'It wasn't the distrust that got everyone worked into a frenzied rage, rather it was the fact that they suggested Cinder herself had done it,' Wolf muttered, but she could see the displeasure he had of thinking about what had happened.  
Scarlet could still recall the rage in the Luna council's eyes and the anger in Cinder's when the Union leaders were accusing Luna.

Scarlet had gone straight from the meeting room to find Cinder. She searched Cinder's room, the gardens, Kai's quarantine room and Kai's office but there was no trace of her. Finally, after Torin's suggestion, she'd found her in Kai's bedroom on the sixteenth floor of the palaces private wing. Scarlet had no idea how she had ended up there; Scarlet herself needed Torin to open the door for her; but she was there nonetheless, cuddled in Kai's sheets with her face pressed in his pillow. Scarlet could still smell his perfume lingering in the room though it was faint. She had made her way to the bed and sat on the side. When Cinder didn't move, Scarlet sat cross-legged on the bed and peeled the quilts off Cinder slowly.

Then, finally, a slight whimper.

'Hey, talk to me. I'm here for you,' Scarlet had murmured, placing a hand on Cinder's arm.  
Cinder didn't move.  
'Don't want to talk?'  
A slight shake of the head.  
'Maybe later?'  
A nod.

So she had sat there for a few minutes, listening to the occasional soft sobs that escaped the girl lying beside her. Scarlet sighed, and tried to make conversation again.  
'I thought you would've been at Kai's quarantine room.'  
A shake of the head again.  
'Didn't want him to see you like this?'  
A small nod.  
'Cress scheduled a meeting with the Luna council tonight. Is that alright with you? Are you coming?'  
Two nods.

Scarlet had then covered her with the blankets again and from the small noise that escaped Cinder's lips, Scarlet could tell she was grateful for it.  
'I'll be in my room if you need me.'  
Another nod.  
Scarlet had kissed the top of Cinder's hair, hoping she would appreciate the gesture even though she wasn't Kai. She had left the room, but not without looking back to make sure Cinder was alright.

So here she lay, hoping Cinder would come out of her little shell and knock at their door. She'd told Wolf what happened when she went to find Cinder. He wasn't surprised.  
'I've never seen her so devastated before but even so, it's expected,' he said, curling a strand of her hair around his.  
Scarlet sighed. 'I know but she shouldn't keep it so...locked up in her.'  
Wolf sat up and gave her a weary smile. 'Give her some time. She might be crying and helpless now, but when she's done, she'll pick herself up. There's no need to do it for her. I've seen her do it, it's amazing.'

There was a small knock at the door, barely audible and Scarlet rushed to open it, thinking it might be Cinder.  
But of course not. Her hopes withered, seeing Jacin standing in the hallway.  
'What, did you forget we had a meeting?' he asked. He looked bored, but behind his expression Scarlet could see a little worry. Winter, no doubt, had been extremely upset by the Union leaders' ignorance.  
Wolf peered at his portscreen. 'Aces! It's nine already?!'  
Scarlet hadn't realised time had gone by so quickly. She took one last look outside, with the dark sky and the stars and Luna in all its splendour.

If Cinder was in a good mood, she would be watching the slow transition of the moon from one side to the other.  
But she wasn't.  
None of them were.

* * *

**Thank you for continuing to read my story.**

**please review if you can, I would like to know your opinions!**


	8. The Council Meeting

**I felt the need to continue in Scarlet's perspective…**

**Enjoy…**

* * *

Scarlet pulled her red hair into a tight ponytail as everyone else adjusted themselves.  
'We should have them face our judicial system and incarcerate them for a few years,' Jason, a young man with blonde hair and sea-green eyes muttered.  
'Isn't that a wonderful way to maintain peace,' Ariel replied sarcastically. 'That'll just get us more trouble.'

Cress twirled a few strands of hair around her fingers. 'It'll be hard to find an appropriate solution given that it's all of the Union leaders.'  
'At least we have the Eastern Commonwealth on our side!' Lily piped up. Scarlet rarely heard Lily during meetings; she mostly always hid behind her thick strands of pink hair, while her blue eyes watched everyone intently. It creeped Scarlet out sometimes.

Scarlet sighed heavily but she knew that even with one Union leader on their side, the others still had a very high chance of walking freely without any sort of punishment.  
'Doesn't the Treaty of Bremen state something about bullying other Union leaders and their country?' asked a bored voice. Scarlet sought out the face; Tobias- a boy with a mop of onyx hair and blue eyes.  
'Of course it does, but we just love wasting our time so we're trying to think of something ourselves,' Jacin dead-panned. 'Use some commonsense.'

A wave of silence passed through and Scarlet knew they'd reached yet another dead-end; it had been an hour already and they hadn't gotten anywhere with what to do.  
'Well, since we aren't getting anywhere on this, why don't we get back to it later?' Yukito, another member with brown hair and cerulean eyes broke the silence.  
'And what else is there to discuss?' Wolf asked from his seat beside Scarlet.

Yukito and Ariel stole quick glances at each other and Cinder, who hadn't said a word, before looking back to the others. Scarlet was dreading what was about to come.  
'It appears,' Ariel began, 'that there has been a breach of Luna's trade system.'  
Thorne started at the word trade. His position as the travel and spaceships minister worked closely with Jason, who was in charge of trade. 'What do you mean breach?!'  
'Jason?' Winter asked, as everyone's eyes turned to him.

Jason straightened in his seat before addressing the others, though his gaze was primarily fixed on Cinder. 'My team and I were doing inspections of the food importations. They are originally from the United Kingdom, but were transported to the Commonwealth so the Luna spaceship that was there could bring it to Luna to avoid hassle. Outside the food looked normal but as they were passing through the scanners, there were these...particles inside. They were so small we would've missed it if one of my members hadn't pointed it out. The packages are currently in quarantine.'

She glanced at Cinder who had suddenly turned pale. The poor girl looked like she was going to faint, but her clenched fists in her lap said otherwise.  
'It's the Letumosis pathogens,' Scarlet said and Cinder's slight nod confirmed her suspicions.  
'You don't know that,' Wolf cut in.  
'What else could it be?' Cress asked.  
'Good thing your team picked it up or it could've proved fatal,' Winter murmured, but even then her voice carried a dreadful tone.

'But what does this person have to target at Luna?' Lily asked, voicing what everyone was thinking.  
'Perhaps they just want to spread panic throughout Luna,' Wolf suggested but from the look on his face, Scarlet knew he didn't believe it.  
There was an ulterior motive. _But what?_  
'To create distrust between the royals and their people,' Winter said.

Winter didn't need to delve into the details. To create distrust between the people and their leaders would mean chaos. And that chaos would mean problems for Luna, could even result in a war if it got serious enough.  
'First thing is first,' Scarlet said firmly, hoping that everyone's minds would turn to the events at hand and not be so worried. 'Your Majesty, what do we do about this?'

Cinder stood up and regarded each council member with an order for their team and speciality. She spoke sternly and fast, and no one dared to interrupt her.  
'Jason, I want those food packages sent straight to the research team and any other packages from the Commonwealth and United Kingdom to be discarded. The team that came in contact with those packages need to be tested for Letumosis.'  
Jason nodded and left, his screen turning black.

'Yukito, I want our defence line around the docking areas to be tightened. No one gets in there or out without an authorised pass from me. I want the storage areas to have extra surveillance and guards too.'  
Yukito's screen morphed into black.

'Thorne, I want your team to step up their security at the docking stations. No ship gets in or out without an authorised pass and a thorough sweep of their contents. Cress would you make sure that all surveillance and chips on Luna are in working order and maybe program one or two more chips for the extra surveillance?'  
Cress nodded and she and Thorne strode out of the room quickly.

'The rest of you please make sure that everything else runs well and the people are not harmed.'  
They all started to nod and the screens switched off progressively until only Ariel's one remained. The others had also filed out of the room.

'Is it too hopeful for Her Majesty to return to Luna anytime soon?' She asked in that patient voice Scarlet loved.  
Cinder sighed as she and Scarlet stood up and collected their portscreens.  
'I want to stay here until...' Cinder's voice broke and she looked down at her portscreen instead. But she didn't need to continue because they knew what would be next.  
Until Kai recovers.  
'Of course,' Ariel replied with an encouraging smile. 'As long as Her Majesty is alright.'  
'Thank you Ariel. You truly are one of the most loyal people I know, 'Cinder said and gave her a fleeting smile before the screen went off and Scarlet and Cinder made their way out.

They walked through the hallways together, looking out of place amongst the many staff bustling about.  
'Thank you Scarlet.'  
Scarlet turned to face Cinder who stopped beside a window looking out towards the sky. Luna was in the centre of vision, its glowing aura illuminating the night.  
'Thank you for always being there,' Cinder murmured and gave her an affectionate smile.  
'It's what friends are for isn't it?' She smiled as they both watched the twinkling stars.

Cinder found a sudden interest in the sleeves of her coat and picked at them, evidently embarrassed.  
'Actually...I've always thought of you as more of my mother,' she mumbled sheepishly. 'I mean a mother...like, you know not like Channary mother but like...' She added quickly, flustered.

Scarlet couldn't help but laugh. Cinder had never really had a mother, well one that loved her. And it warmed Scarlet's heart to know that Cinder thought of her as one, maybe even loved her as one. She slung an arm around Cinder, who shuffled a little closer.

'Well, between the two of us, we can be mother and daughter.'

* * *

**Thank you for continuing to read and review!**


	9. Bedtime Stories

**I'm so sorry for not updating for more than a week! I had a debating tournament so I had to write two speeches which took my weekend when I normally write. After that family gatherings and school came so I hardly had any time at all. I'm so sorry, but here it is now. . .**

**Enjoy it please, after a long long wait! I thought it would be nice to do one in Kai's point of view, since I haven't done him in a while~ **

* * *

Kai let his eyelids slide shut, instead focusing on the petite figure beside him. He could feel the strands of hair splayed out over his chest and could hear the soft breaths that escaped her lips when she exhaled. With Cinder by his side, he felt like he was more alive than he ever could be. He felt like he was invincible. That he could fight anything.

Maybe even fight this Letumosis.

Kai could feel her squirming around in his grip, trying to get a comfortable position.  
'Am I hurting you?' Her innocent voice broke his moment of indulgence. Shaking his head he released her a bit while she adjusted herself next to him, before taking her hand and squeezing it.

Cinder's hand accidentally slipped onto a sickening splotch on his hand. He searched her expression fearfully for any disgust or sickness but all he found was curiosity.  
'I thought it would be squishy.' She sounded generally disappointed.  
'Looks like chicken pox right now huh?'  
'Blue chicken pox.'

A sudden outburst of pain made Kai cry out in pain. He groaned in agony, clutching his stomach as if he might throw up. Within moments of the noise escaping his lips, Cinder's warm brown eyes were staring into his, the worry evident even though her eyes were synthetic. Her hair framed her face and she placed her palms on his cheek, not caring whether the splotches felt icky or slimy.

'Where does it hurt?' Her voice was filled with concern and the usual caring tone she now spoke with to him. Wincing and shuddering he forced his eyes to remain open, before pointing a shaking finger at his shoulders which were now attached to blue spotted limbs. She brought out a salve from one of the drawers of the bedside table beside him and scooped a bit out with her fingers. Easing him onto his side so he was facing her, she rubbed the salve gently all the while not letting her gaze slip from his.

'I'm sorry.'  
She looked momentarily startled at his random apology. 'Whatever for?'  
'Making you worry and take care of me like this. You probably have so much more things to do.'  
She ruffled his hair, strands falling into his eyes. 'I would bargain the world if it meant that I could take care of you. You would do the same, I know you would,' she said and the smile playing on her lips warmed his heart like no other smile could.

Yes. He would.

Cinder had a whole country to run. And here she was, taking care of him and the Commonwealth with Torin.

And he knew that he would do the same. There was no denying it for either of them.

Cinder, who'd just laid back on his chest jolted upright at the intruder's knock. Winter was standing with one hand pressed against the glass panel as if to knock again. Torin and Jacin were lingering by the doorway making small talk.  
'Luna requests their queen to oversee a few matters,' she said, giving them a sheepish smile.  
Sighing, Cinder slid off the side of the bed, giving him a fleeting smile before making her way to the door.  
'I'll be a minute,' she told Winter before retrieving a bag of clothes she'd brought with her and disappearing into the bathroom.

When Winter, Cinder and Jacin had left, Torin made his way to the glass panels dragging a chair from one of the tables. He sat down but not before giving Kai a respected bow.  
'How do you feel?' he asked wearily.  
Kai thought for the best explanation to give his advisor. 'Say that you're about to fall to your death from the tip of a cliff and you're hanging at the tip just waiting until your grip slips.'  
Horror crossed Torin's face until he realised Kai was just trying to provoke an expression.

'Med, get him some water,' Torin's voice broke the minute's silence.  
'So,' Kai paused to drink some water before continuing, 'What's been happening in the Union meetings lately?  
Torin bowed his head but it was too late; Kai had seen the disapproval and the fury settle in.  
'It seems that the Union leaders have decided to make up their own theories as to what happened at the party,' Torin muttered and Kai could hear the disgust in his voice.

Adjusting his position on the bed so he was lying down on his side facing Torin, Kai studied his advisor. 'What have they come up with?' he said, before taking on a tone he thought best resembled Camilla, 'It was the Lunars!'  
He'd expected Torin to give him one of his famous disapproving glares, but when Torin's eyes locked with his, there was no denial. Rather there was dread. Dread and fear.  
'Oh stars, please tell me that's not true!' Kai groaned, running a hand through his hair which felt odd with all the blisters on his palm.

'I thought Her Majesty would've told you. Then again it was quite intense so I don't think she wanted you to know.'  
'Let's just hope no one retaliates or it would prove serious.'  
Torin shuffled in his seat as if he was too restless to sit in one place. 'It was pretty heated. And with the extent the Union leaders went to I wouldn't be surprised if Luna does some harsh retaliation.'  
'Tell me what happened,' Kai said sternly.  
'You need to rest. I don't want this on your mind anymore than it is now.'  
'Consider it a bedtime story.'  
Torin huffed in his seat. 'I shouldn't have told you,' he muttered.

And amidst the annoyance, Kai received Torin's famous glare. Kai found himself smiling. Though one might not think of it as the best achievement, Kai was proud that even though he was sick, he could still be his annoying self.

Torin's monotone voice was making Kai fall asleep rather than the actual events of the meeting. All Kai heard was mumble jumble about chaos and Cinder stalking out and flying accusations. He would have to ask Cinder about it later in hopes that she would be a little more enlightening. When Torin had finished, Kai gave him what he thought would be an understanding smile.  
'Luna is the most powerful ally of the Union. They better tread lightly if they want peace,' he muttered.

The dull long story had given Kai a headache too. He shut his eyes in hopes the pain would diminish.  
'You look tired,' Torin said standing up and pushing the chair back into its respective table. He gave Kai a low bow before mumbling something about checking on the investigation progress and giving him some rest before leaving Kai to be alone with the few med-droids stationed in the room should he need anything.

Shuffling into a comfortable sleeping position, Kai watched the photos in the digital frame; pictures of his mother, his father, of him. Of Cinder. Their smiles brought warmth where he was cold and their pictures made him feel like he had company. Like they were with him, maybe not in person but spirit.

And with those thoughts in mind, he closed his eye and felt himself fall into a sleep.

* * *

**I hope it was okay for a two hour job and considering I hadn't updated for more than a week I hope it meets your standards.**

**Also, thank you **_**Wordmeister259 **_**for pointing out the fact that there were some grammar mistakes. The moment I get a chance to go over the chapters, I'll fix them up.  
For the rest, thank you so much for your wonderful reviews, follows and favourites. They do mean a lot to me!**

**Arya**


	10. A Spark Of Mischief

**Well, well, well… what do we have here? Chapter ten maybe. . .  
Enjoy!**

* * *

The research wing of the palace looked almost identical to the one Cinder had spent days visiting when she'd been taken in for the cyborg draft years ago. The only difference was probably most of the new faces smiling at her respectfully as she passed; an odd figure in the otherwise sea of white.

A flash of caramel hair caught her off guard and Cinder stumbled to a stop just in time before she could crash into the person before her.  
'Oh! Your Majesty!' a voice squeaked as the figure bent into a bow. Cinder eyed her as she straightened herself, the girl's emerald eyes meeting Cinder's brown ones.  
'It's you!' Cinder blurted out before she could stop herself.

Cinder remembered the night she and Kai had taken a walk in the gardens before taking the elevator to the guest wing. They'd had to share that elevator ride with a flustered girl who had come from the labs. The flustered girl who stood before her now.  
'We never got your name,' Cinder said, moving to the side of the hallway to let other people pass by.  
'Yuki. Yuki Karino,' the girl replied, swatting a few strands of caramel hair out of her face.

They walked a few steps in silence.  
'Is there anything particular you're here for?' Yuki asked lightly.  
Cinder remained silent for a while before nodding. 'I just wanted to see the progress on the research for the cure really.'  
Yuki nodded furiously. 'Of course, I'll take you to Fateen and Li!'

The Lab rooms always reminded Cinder of her nightmarish days as a cyborg draft "volunteer". Yuki made small talk with Cinder, only answering questions that Cinder asked. They neared a lab room and Yuki flashed her hand at the ID scanner and the door opened.  
'Here you go Your Majesty,' she said politely gesturing for Cinder to walk in.

The lab room was pristine white, with only an exam table, a netscreen and a med-droid on standby. Fateen and Li stood in front of the netscreen murmuring in hushed voices. The noises from the hallway faded as the door closed behind them. They spun around and quickly melted into bows as they saw who stood before them. Cinder waved them up.  
'I just wanted to check on how the research was going,' Cinder informed, making her way to stand beside Fateen.

Fateen's words felt like daggers piercing her heart; still no new information and still no leads.  
_What if there was no cure?  
_Cinder regretted the thought immediately. There was a cure. They would find it. She sighed and leaned against the examination table. Yuki was bent over a portscreen entering information Li was reading out to her. A pinging sound from Li's portscreen caught the four of them off guard. Taking a quick glance at it, he excused himself from Cinder's presence and he and Yuki rushed out.

'How is His Majesty?'  
Cinder turned back to Fateen who'd voiced the question with general concern. Cinder had to stare at the back wall to focus.  
'It's getting worse. He doesn't say it but you can see from the way he winces. It's hard for him I guess.'  
'It's hard for us all. Everyone here is working so hard.'

Cinder knew it was true. Kai had proven to be one of the most loved emperors the Eastern Commonwealth ever had. He'd stayed true to his promises to do whatever he could for them and his extremely good looks raised his status by a million more times. Cinder found herself smiling remembering the time he'd described the stampede that had happened at one of the peace balls years ago.

The door slid open again and Yuki shuffled in, her eyes wide.  
'Umm…Fateen…We need you…' she mumbled, twisting a few strands of hair around her finger.  
Fateen nodded and pushed herself off the table.  
'Excuse us Your Majesty. I won't be long.' She bowed before following Yuki out of the door, her braid swishing.  
And Cinder was left alone in the lab room.

_Letumosis pathogens confirmed in apple.  
_Cinder skimmed through the information on the netscreen.  
_Patient: Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth  
_His name made her heart leap. The picture beside it made her heart sting with pain and sorrow.  
_Letumosis pathogens confirmed in blood stream.  
_She felt her fists clench.  
_No cure confirmed.  
_The dread settled in.

An ear piercing alarm blared into Cinder's ears, catching her off guard. She let out a shriek and clamped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from further shrieking.  
The evacuation alarm for the research wing kept ringing.  
'Screen off.'  
She quickly made her way to the door and flashed her wrist across the ID scanner where her own ID chip had been implanted once she'd become queen. The ID scanner flashed a haunting red back at her.

Cursing, she pounded on the door. She heard the mechanical whirring coming from a med-droid on the other side and heard the scanner beep in satisfaction. She took a step back from the door to allow the med-droid who'd come for her in. The fact that med-droids had entered the room didn't shock Cinder. Rather what shocked her was the amount of med-droids there were.

She watched in dismay as the door slid shut, only managing to catch a glimpse of empty hallways as the door locked in place. _  
Locked in place.  
_'Wha- What do you want!?' Cinder cried at the med-droids who'd filed in. None of them answered as they slowly came to stop around her until she was circled. She took a step back, colliding with one of them who pushed her back into the middle. She stumbled and nearly tripped over her dress material.

'Hey! Let me out!' she screamed, but her voice disintegrated in her throat as she saw what looked like tasers protruding out of their hands. Warnings flashed against her screen, but she couldn't take control of her ragged breathing and her quickening heart beats. The med-droids inched closer and closer until the tasers were barely a millimetre before her.

In a moment of panic, Cinder kicked the first one she saw, sending it rolling back a few centimetres. There was only a small dent in its body where the heel of her shoe had come in contact with its body and it returned to its position in front of her quicker than it went.

And before she could take another breath, the arms of the all the med-droids shot out and she felt multiple surges of electricity travel through her body. She jolted and fell, her body hitting the tile floor with a loud thump, blacking her out for a moment. She screamed in pain as the pain came; shock after shock, invading her body. Her fingers twitched uncontrollably and her retina display was going haywire, warnings flashing wildly until it looked like a jumble of nonsensical words.

The sounds of crackling electricity filled her ears and the evacuation alarm was blaring in the background. All Cinder could feel was pain like she was being stabbed in every part of her body at once again and again. She felt herself being dragged towards the door by multiple droid hands and she still felt the stings of the few droids continuing to stab down on her with their devices.

But above all else, she could see the shadow of a figure towering over her.

* * *

**In regards to**_** Lorebeth**_**'s review, the way I perceived Cinder in this fan-fiction, it seemed fitting for Kai to call her Selene more than Cinder. Cinder regards her name, Selene, as a link to her past and a beginning to her future and the future of the whole Lunar Chronicles world. It's the same with Kai and why he uses Selene more than Cinder; it's a new beginning. Cinder, to him, I thought would be more of the lunar cyborg fugitive he knew pretty much nothing about. But calling her Selene would be like a fresh start to her new identity and to him it would be more of the gentle, innocent queen she turned into. And I just thought calling her Selene would be nice since that was her original name and what most people regard her by. But i suppose that's quite true so i'll add in a few Cinder's now and then ^^ Thank you (Sorry if that didn't make sense at all)**

**Anyhow, thank you for the continuing reviews, follows and favourites. I find it comforting to know that you're enjoying this.**

**Edit: I apologise for the extremely short notice and the extremely ridiculous timing, but I'm afraid due to technical issues there won't be many updates for a while. I will try to type it up on another device (but most of the devices don't do single spacing and whatnot so it looks horrible) I'll try my best to get it done though.**

**thank you so much for being patient **


	11. The Missing Beauty

**Chapter eleven after a bit of a long wait. I do apologise for the wait but all will be explained in the author's note at the bottom of this chapter. I'll save you the pain of reading the notes first. **

* * *

It had taken Cress approximately ten seconds to register the words that had been thrown her way. She aimlessly walked around the hallways near the research labs as if by some miracle Cinder would just appear there right in front of her.  
Cress had been making her way down to the labs as the researchers had asked her for blood samples on their ongoing hunt for a cure when she'd bumped into Li, one of the researchers. It was he who had broken the news to her.

_Queen Selene is missing. _

Cress had to make him clarify his statement three times before she decided to accept it. Lunar queen and missing didn't really go well together and she knew that when Luna found out there would be rage. Scarlet had come a few minutes later with the rest of them, her eyes blazing in fury. Her bright red hair didn't help matters; said girl looked like she was going to set someone on fire. If that was Scarlet's reaction to the news, Cress really didn't want to see how Luna would react.

Scarlet immediately had everyone looking for Cinder; Thorne and Cress along with Yuki and Fateen would search the lab facilities; Wolf, Scarlet and Li would search the storage areas and the docking bays; Jacin and Winter were sent to the guest room quarters and Emperor Kai's quarantine room and countless Commonwealth soldiers and Luna guards were made to scour everywhere else.

Cress and the others with her had decided to spilt up their search area in hopes of finding Cinder, if she was here, as quick as possible. So here she was now, tiptoeing through the empty halls and peeping into rooms with the special ID she was given by Fateen. She paused as she rounded a corner before cursing and walking back where she came from. She'd gotten lost. Again.

The halls were all white and all the rooms were identical Cress had finally lost track of where she'd been and not. Maybe that was why the persecutor had chosen the lab facility to attack. For anyone unfamiliar, it would be easy to not remember where you were being taken; Cinder would have no idea where to go to find anyone. It would be just as hard to find her.  
'Smart,' Cress muttered under her breath.

Her portscreen dinged and she fished it out of her pocket, moving simultaneously to the side of the hallway.  
_Comm received from Carswell Thorne.  
_Cress' heart did a little skip at the name.  
_Found her yet?  
_Cress sighed as she tapped in a quick reply of the obvious answer; No. Returning to the device to her pocket, she turned around and continued walking the way she'd previously came in hopes of finding her way back to the starting place.

And that was when she heard it.

It was the sound of footsteps, running, and the sound of the heels of the shoes against the floor echoing. Quickening her pace, Cress found herself jogging down the hallway towards the noise. It grew louder and louder and Cress kept going faster and faster. Reaching the end of the end of the corridor, she swerved right.

Cress felt herself crash into a solid figure before tumbling backwards, her head hitting the floor with a loud thump. The other figure cried out in alarm as another thump entered Cress' ears. Desperately trying to push away the many strands of hair that had fallen over her face and eyes, she stared at the seated figure opposite to her.

Her heart fell.

'I'm sorry. I thought it might've been Her Majesty,' Cress mumbled, clearly disappointed as she helped Yuki up, one of the lab researchers who'd come with Fateen and Li. Yuki pressed a hand against the wall to orientate herself before blinking at Cress a few times.  
'It's okay. Scarlet found her though. Thorne sent me to come and get you,' Yuki said quickly as she took Cress' hand and ran back down the hallway, a stumbling Cress behind her.

They entered one of the small docks of the research wing before Yuki led her into one of the back rooms, which to Yuki's information were rarely used for anything these days. Opening the door enough for Cress and her to slip in, the two tiptoed inside to view what was before her. The room looked more like a prison cell, with a small window towards the top and metal walls. The floor, which should've been stainless silver, was speckled with red pools of blood. Cress' eyes followed the streams of red liquid to the group of people in front of her.

The scene before her was nothing that Cress would've imagined. Or maybe she just had bad imagination when it came to thinking up kidnapping scenes. Scarlet was bent over a figure whose dress was damp with blood. Wolf was nearby in his usual fighting stance should anyone come out to attack them. Winter was crouched on the other side of the figure and from the look on her face, Cress knew instantly that things were a lot worse than they looked.

'Jacin and Thorne went to get some meds and Iko and Li went to get the security team to start an investigation,' Fateen's worried voice whispered into Cress' ear. Nodding numbly, she moved towards Scarlet and peered over her shoulder.  
And there she lay.  
Her hair was a mess; strands sprawled around her while others stuck to her cheeks and forehead like glue. Bruises and cuts lined her arms, legs and face and little clumps of dried blood decorated everywhere else. Whoever had done this to her, had done it a long while ago. Cress felt sick to the stomach.

If Cinder hadn't been covered in bruises and blood and hadn't been missing for hours, Cress would've thought she was peacefully asleep, having one of her rare sweet dreams. Thorne and Jacin came in with a handful of doctors and a stretcher.  
'Don't lay a hand on her,' Scarlet hissed at two of the doctors who had reached out to put Cinder onto the stretcher. They instantly froze and uncertainly retracted their hands.  
'She needs to be taken to the infirmary as quick as possible,' Dr Daniel said, a hint of hesitation in his voice. No one wanted to anger Scarlet more than she already was.

Wolf slipped a hand on Scarlet's shoulder and squeezed it.  
'Scarlet...they need to take her before anything else happens,' he murmured in her ear. Coaxing her up, Wolf took Scarlet into his own arms and they watched as the doctors hoisted the Luna queen onto the stretcher and took her away.  
'She'll be fine. If Cinder trusts the doctors here, then we can too,' Winter murmured, her way of comforting everyone perhaps.

Cress tapped her fingers against her knees in a solemn tune, humming the few bars she knew. It had been an hour or two already since they'd seen Cinder and none of the doctors had come out. The investigation team didn't have any leads either. It was as though the perpetrator had just disappeared without any trace.

Yuki and Fateen were deep in conversation with Scarlet and Torin, no doubt saying what had happened before they'd left Cinder alone in the room and the events during the time that the evacuation bell went off. Cress had already heard all of this from Li, who'd walked with her to the infirmary's waiting room. Yuki had been with Li the whole time until he asked her to call Fateen. The three of them were in one of the lab rooms when the alarms had gone off. They were all evacuated outside when Yuki had piped up that Cinder was still inside. By the time they got to the lab room however, Cinder was gone.

Without a trace. Without a sound. Without any sign of struggle.

'We found this close to the lab room Her Majesty was in.' Jacin's frustrated voice broke Cress' trail of thoughts. Standing up to join the others who had formed a circle around Thorne, Jacin and something in between them, Cress saw the looks of surprise cross numerous faces. In the middle of everyone stood a med-droid. It looked just like any other med-droid Cress' had seen at her time in the palace except for one thing.

It had a dent in its body.

'That dent was made by a high-heeled shoe,' Thorne said, sounding as though he were an expert in the shoe industry. 'And,' he continued as he revealed the shoe Cinder had been wearing and fit it into the dent, 'A perfect fit!'  
'It must've been reprogrammed,' Torin muttered, looking a lot more dishevelled than usual.

But there was still one question that Cress knew lingered in the air.

_Who had programmed the androids? Who was behind all of this? And why? _

Scarlet opened her mouth to say something when the infirmary doors opened and one of the assistants came rushing out, dishevelled but relieved. All heads whipped towards him as he paced towards them.  
'Well?' Cress demanded as his eyes shifted over each of them clearly uncomfortable with the amount of attention and the intensity of gazes. He cleared his throat before raising his head a little to project his voice to everyone.

'Queen Selene has awakened.'

* * *

******I managed to finish off chapter eleven, but in case the edit in the last author's note was not read, some technical difficulties have been thrown at me and so as a result this chapter and others to come will be more delayed than usual. **

******I do apologise extremely for this but I will try my best to get the updates to you as fast as I possibly can given everything that has been happening. **

******Thank you for the reads, reviews, favourites and follows~ Please keep them coming!**

******Edit 19/08/14 ~ I know it's been a long while since I've updated but I do have an assignment due tomorrow so I will try to update by the end of the week. Given that I have another assignment due next week and my technical issues have still not been solved, it will be a while for the next update too. I'm so sorry!**


	12. The Remedy Of Pain

**And the long awaited chapter arrives! Thank you for being patient and reading on~ **

* * *

It was as though she'd awoken for the first time in years. The white ceiling blinded Cinder's eyes the way sun did when looked at directly. With a moan she forced her eyes open as a few faces looked down at her. All with worried yet relieved expressions they watched her as she opened and closed her mouth like a fish as no words came out.

'You. Are. Never. Going. Anywhere. Alone. Again. Do you understand me?!' Scarlet's voice shrieked out as arms draped over her in a hug. Cinder let her head lull to rest on the side of Scarlet's. Her body still ached and her mind was still rushing. Rushing with memories of the previous events.

But more so, rushing with fear and filled with horror.  
_How could it be possible? How could what she had seen been true?_

'So how does our cyborg queen feel?'' Thorne's voice interrupted her panicked mind as he peered down at her with a raised eyebrow. Using Scarlet as support Cinder sat up but instantly fell against the piled cushions behind her.

And at last she saw herself. However, it wasn't what she saw that surprised her. Rather it was what she didn't see.  
'Last time I checked,' Wolf said following Cinder's eyes as she examined her arms, 'you were covered in scars and bleeding to your death.'  
'Miracle recoveries?' Cress suggested as she too noticed that Cinder's skin was pristine as that of a newborn's.

There was not a scratch or splotch of blood on her. Not any signs of a scuffle or kidnap. So just what had the doctors done to her?  
Scarlet made her way to the door and beckoned one of the staff nearby. Doctor Daniel shuffled inside, a wide grin on his face. He neared the bed and bowed to her, taking off his hat in the process.  
'Your Majesty. It is really a pleasure to see you up and well.'  
'What did you do to me?' Cinder asked when her voice had resurfaced, careful not to slur her words.

Within minutes the doctor had brought up a picture of Cinder's body before whatever they did to her on the screen in the room. Cinder immediately wished she'd never asked. She couldn't even recognise it was herself from all the damage there was to her body. Her hair was caked with dried blood as were her arms and the rest of her body. Scars and gashes decorated her skin, not missing a spot. At least it wasn't as bad as her three year-old self she thought as she cringed away from the image.

'So how did you get her from that,' Iko pointed at the screen,' to that,' she said pointing to Cinder who glared back at her with what little energy she could muster.  
'Skin grafting mostly,' the doctor said pointing to most of the areas where there was more bone and blood than flesh. 'We also had to repair a few of your cyborg parts. You'll need lots of rest but at the rate you're healing you could be up and about in a few days.'

When the doctor had gone and the others had disappeared off to check up on the investigations and Luna feeds, only Cress and her remained. Cress was fiddling with her hair, humming a soft tune that eased Cinder's pain. Cinder closed her eyes and listened for a few moments replaying small bits of information to herself to stabilise her mind.

_Linh Cinder; a cyborg mechanic from New Beijing. She's now Queen Selene, the once missing and rightful heir to Luna. She's in love with Emperor Kaito, the Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth. She orchestrated the rebellion on Luna and took her place as queen from her aunty...Levana..._

The last word sent a chill down her spine. Memories of the former incident scribbled itself across her eyes. The whips coming down, the haughty laugh, the blazing eyes. The blood and bile mixing in her mouth. The silent screams that refused to leave her mouth. Then finally sinking into a pained sleep and waking up on a hospital bed. Her friends surrounding her and the doctor explaining her surgery. And now here with Cress, listening to the melodious voice shaking from what she'd experienced.

But most of all, what she'd seen. Or rather, who she'd seen.

The humming stopped and Cinder met Cress' worried eyes as the girl leaned over and placed a gentle hand over Cinder's.  
'Are you okay?'  
Cinder nodded. _Lie.  
_'Do you want me to get Scarlet?'  
Cinder shook her head. Cinder hesitated for a moment; it would be nice to have Scarlet here. After all, Scarlet had had her fair share of similar torture back when she was taken captive on Luna. Cinder decided against it- Scarlet was busy and Cinder was grateful she was taking care of all the questions from Luna that were clogging up her portscreen.

'Would you sing for me?'  
'Pardon?' Cress asked, surprised at Cinder's words. Cinder never really had asked Cress to sing for her; she didn't need to, Cress sang on her own.  
'Sing for me.'  
'Oh well, umm...okay...' Cress stuttered before clearing her throat.

Cinder didn't need to know the meaning of the French words she was singing to know that it was beautiful in every way. Cinder hummed a few bars that she recognised and soon both she and Cress were making their own little entertainment. She let Cress sing the last few high notes when her throat started to hurt and she had to drink a glass of water.

After a while of silence, Cress spoke up again playing with her hair.  
'So...umm...how are things with Kai?' she murmured, knowing she was hitting a sensitive topic.  
Cinder paused; she'd never talked to Cress about Kai after he'd fallen sick with Letumosis.  
'It's painful for him...and for...for... ' Cinder stopped and lowered her head, letting her hair cover her face. She couldn't, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't talk about him. It only brought back grief and pain.  
'For you?' Cress asked, scooting beside Cinder on the bed. Cinder nodded and let Cress take her hand.

They sat there in the silence for what seemed like ages before Cress spoke up again.  
'Sing.'  
'W-What?' Cinder choked out the words as though her airways had contracted dramatically.  
'Sing for him. It's painful because you can't do anything right? Well if you asked me to sing to soothe your nerves and pain he's bound to feel the same if you sing for him!' Cress exclaimed with an encouraging look on her face.

Cinder had never thought of it that way before. She'd never realised how singing had always relaxed her when times were hard and how they had an uncanny way of taking away her pain. She smiled; maybe, just maybe, she could help Kai in a way she'd never thought she could.  
Maybe Cress was right. Within moments she was furiously thanking Cress who'd gone back to being flustered.

'Are you two quite done?' A thick voice broke Cinder's thanking. She whipped her head to see Jacin leaning against the frame door and jumped. She'd never heard him coming; then again he did have a habit of turning up unnoticed.  
'Did you need me?' Cinder asked trying to return her features to placidity to match his.  
'Winter sent me,' he muttered, striding in as the door shut behind him.  
'Whatever for?' Cress said, slipping off the bed and returning to her chair.

By the time Jacin had finished explaining the Luna council's talk and what they wanted Cinder's placid features had turned upside down. Hands on hips she stared at Jacin as if she were going to kill someone.  
'I told you. I'm not going back until he's well,' she said sternly, placing a mouthful of anger into each word.

Jacin held up his hands in surrender.  
'Tell that to Luna. They want you back immediately. The last thing they want is you getting hurt.'  
'I don't care. I'm not leaving until there is a cure and Kai gets better,' Cinder huffed, falling back into the cushions, exhausted.  
'And when do you think that will be?' Jacin shot back, knowing he'd be in trouble if Cinder continued being stubborn.  
'Why don't you think it will be soon?!' Cinder cried out, before letting out an exasperated sigh before yawning a little.

She'd never realised just how tired she was until all her anger had released. She groaned and slid under the sheets of her bed.  
'I'm tired, let me be. I'll talk to them later if they really want,' she murmured as she closed her eyes, draining out all the noise as Jacin walked back towards the door with Cress. But there was only one thing that caught her attention as the door separated her from them.

'Because there is no hope.'

* * *

**Ahhh, the end of a long awaited chapter at last. I apologise that it is so late. Once again, school will pull my writing time away as I have a couple more assignments to complete. Along with that, my technical issues still haven't died down either so thank you so much for being patient while you waited for this update.**

**_Anonymous:_ Well, at the very beginning before I even started writing the chapters I did write down my original plot. After that as I write my chapters, I add in finer details to the plot and other ideas I get as I write. Before I write each chapter I do dot point exactly what is going to happen in each chapter and the start of the next chapter so I know exactly what to write and how to end the chapter.  
**

**Arya **


	13. A Painful Love

**Thought it would be nice to end Winter (and Summer for the Northern Hemisphere?) with an update~**

* * *

Every muscle ached. Every bone felt stiff. Every part of him felt useless. His body felt feverish and hot and his eyes could barely stay open. It was as though everything was slowly being sapped away from him and all the energy was draining away.

It was as though life itself was slowly slipping from his grasp.

Kai felt as though he was being strangled as his airways momentarily blocked. His body jerked upward as he coughed into the cloth the med-droid was holding to his mouth. A wave of sparking pain jolted through his body and he cried out in pain. As the med-droid took the cloth away from his mouth, Kai could've sworn he saw blood staining it. The med-droid fed him water but even swallowing was too painful. Everything was too painful.

His head lulled to the side and his eyes settled on the visitor's room. No one. Of course there was no one. The only people who were allowed to see him in such a dreadful state were Cinder and Torin. And neither of them had showed up the last two days. He knew they had things on their mind; Torin had the Eastern Commonwealth to deal until Kai recovered. Until he recovered. It felt more like false hope to him than truth. And Cinder. Cinder had Luna to take care of and she had all the accusations towards her to deal with.

It hurt him to even think, but lying here alone, it was impossible not to. And out of all things that could possibly be on his mind, there was only ever one thing that stood above all others. Cinder. Closing his eyes, he thought back to their first meeting. One of the palace mechanics had suggested he bring malfunctioned Nainsi to her. _Linh Cinder's New Beijing's most renowned mechanic! If anyone, Linh Cinder should be able to fix it. _That's what Kai was told.

He remembered entering the booth to find it empty; not a breath to be heard but his own. He remembered shoving Nainsi onto the bench before hearing a _thump _and being met with hard, pissed off looking eyes that soon melted into surprise and apology. Kai had been just as surprised to find out there was actually someone there. He smiled momentarily at the thought at the image of her at their first meeting. Cinder had been a mess; her brown hair tied into the messiest of ponytails he'd ever seen, her work gloves, stained and old, and her face decorated with a grease stain on her forehead.

And then came the memory of her at the top of the stairs on the night of the 126th Peace Ball. Drenched from head to toe in a silver ball gown and boots that were probably the first she could find. And she'd been wearing the gloves he'd given her with a stain on either glove. A mechanic's mark. That night, Kai knew that everyone around him was looking at her with disgust and they were laughing at her. But Kai had found himself smiling; she had come. It didn't matter what she looked like. All that mattered was that she'd come.

Then it was the memory of dancing. As he led her across the floor with precise movements contrasting to her clumsy ones, they' talked. The touch of her hand against his neck when they'd danced without much gap between them. Their hushed voices, her honest gaze, his regretful tone. He knew that all around them people were shooting Cinder looks of jealousy, but he didn't care.

Kai's mind raced to the next events; Torin telling him it was time to tell of his intent to marry Levana, Cinder telling him not to. Pleading him not to. Kai could still remember the panic in her eyes as he walked away from Torin and Cinder. And then he'd heard the small taps of the heels of her boots racing after him and he'd felt the strong tug as she spun him around. And then her arms wrapping around his neck and her lips pressing onto his.

Everyone had turned silent in that moment. Kai had been so caught off guard he hadn't known what to do, so he just let her. He let her linger, while he remained in shock and confusion. But maybe, maybe if he had been anticipating the kiss, maybe if he'd been aware of what she was going to do, he would've slipped his arms around her waist. And he would've kissed her back. And he regretted not doing so.

Everything that had happened afterwards was a blur. Levana making her appearance and trying to kill Cinder. Kai finding out what Cinder really was; Lunar. Cinder rushing down the steps to the garden, falling, losing her foot. Losing her foot, another revelation; cyborg. Kai creeping down and picking it up, trying to make sense of her glamouring, wavering in and out.

And she was painful to look at. Painfully beautiful, even more than Levana.

The sound of the visitor's door opening cut through Kai's thoughts and brought him back to reality. He forced his eyes open as much as they could and squinted as the figure took slow steps towards the door that separated his quarantine room to the visitor's room. Only one person would make for that door.  
'Cinder?' he asked, his voice hoarse and full of pain.

The figure kept moving silently and made its way through the door and towards him. The figure had long hair that came down in perfected ringlets. A mask covered all of her face but her eyes, which were dark and empty of emotion. Her hands were covered in gloves and she wore a thick dress mostly covered by a cloak of sots.

'Cinder…' Kai whispered as the figure drew closer. Her touch felt familiar, soft yet cold.  
'I am not your Cinder.' The voice seemed achingly memorable, but he knew in an instant that however beautiful it sounded, it was not Cinder's.  
'Then…who?' Kai felt a prick against his arm and looked to see her drawing blood from him. He winced in pain, but her grip on his arm was strong and chilling.

She put the needle and the blood sample back in the bag she was holding and drew out a portscreen. Tapping a few instructions, she disregarded Kai's groans and hisses of pain.  
'Med-droid…' he whispered. Even talking was too painful.  
'It is not here. Don't bother young Emperor,' the woman voice took an impatient tone.

She looked down at Kai with her dark eyes, and it felt like she was piercing his soul.  
'You want to see your beloved Cinder?' she asked, spitting out the name like it was dirt and ash.  
She flipped the portscreen to face Kai and watched as Kai's face turned into one of anguish and horror.  
'Play. Volume up,' she demanded.

Kai couldn't comprehend where in the palace this room was. It was bare, made of steel walls and a steel floor. At the top was a small window with bars in front. And lying on the floor in a heap was Cinder. Her hair was sprawled in all directions and her dress was stained red. He could hear the soft whimpering that escaped her lips and the strained pleas to stop.

From the corner of the screen came a whip, thin but sharp and it hailed down on her several times. She shrieked as her body jolted each time the whip made contact. Blood started seeping from Cinder and trickled its way across the floor. Cinder flipped over so she was staring up at the ceiling, and again screamed and screamed. Her hands were clenched into fists and her body shook violently.

And then everything became silent. Cinder stopped moving instead laying lifeless on the floor. More blood seeped from her and her chest stopped rising and falling to her breathing. She looked as though she was dead. Gone.

The portscreen switched off and the woman placed it in her bag before making her way to the door as though nothing had happened. Kai's fists were clenches, his teeth were gritted to stop himself from screaming. His heart and mind were racing, praying that it was not true. That what she'd shown him was fake. That Cinder was alive and well and she was just sleeping in her room.

But every part of him knew it was true. The woman turned back just before exiting the visitor's room.  
'She's dead. And you'll be joining her soon.'  
And with that she disappeared down the hallway.

The video was still fresh in Kai's mind. His heart was aching, not from the pain of Letumosis, but from the pain of what he'd seen. From the pain of Cinder hopeless, lifeless. Dead.

He let his emotions run through, however painful it was. He screamed and screamed and screamed. He desperately tried to get up, jerking himself forward not caring whether he hurt himself. He had to get to her. He fell back onto the bed, unable to try to get up again. He choked back on his tears as he screamed again and dug his nails into his hair.

He shouted out her name over and over again. _Cinder. Cinder. Cinder. Cinder. _And he could feel the burning tears running down his cheeks in an endless stream of anguish and pain.

* * *

**I was conflicted with whether I should do this chapter as the chapter twelve or the chapter thirteen and finally settled on chapter thirteen for some reason...**

**Sorry for making you wait so long (I know I say this every time, but I don't think it's enough) Hopefully, after the next few weeks I'll be done with assignments and exams and can write a little more than I do know and that means faster updates!**

**Thank you for reading and your reviews would be loved! **

**Arya**


	14. Sweet Melodies

**I apologise for the delay but I have an assignment due in two/three days so I've been spending most of my time on that.**

* * *

Still no leads. It was three weeks since Kai had fallen ill and there were still no leads. As Cinder stepped off the podium of the press conference room she heard murmurs that rippled through the crowd of journalists. She was tempted to turn down her audio interface but something caught her attention.  
'No leads, huh. Seems like everything is going the Queen's way.'

Cinder stopped in her tracks, one step away from the door to the hallway.  
'Just like Channary. Maybe even worse than Levana; at least she made it clear she wanted to rule.'  
She stormed out before she could hear another word. Torin was waiting for her inside and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as she came to stand in front of him.  
'Don't listen,' he said in that fatherly tone of his.

Torin opened his mouth to say something else but just as he took in a breath to start a guard came rushing in.  
'Your Majesty! Advisor Torin!' he panted his face red and beaded with sweat.  
'What?!' Torin asked, his face immediately morphing into one of alarm.  
'Hurry. It's Emperor Kaito.'

She sat by his side on the bed stroking his hair, murmuring words of reassurance. The tears still rolled down his cheeks however, and his voice still repeated her name over and over again. _Cinder. Cinder. Cinder. _Torin stood watching from the visitors' room, his head bowed to cover his features; it was too painful for him to watch. Too painful for either of them.

'Med bring him water,' Torin ordered before turning to Cinder. 'I'll go talk to the guards that found him like this, see if they know anything.'  
Cinder nodded and he made his way out the door but even though he'd said such an excuse Cinder knew it was just too much for him to bear to watch the young boy he'd raised all his life like this. And Torin knew that the only thing that would soothe Kai was Cinder's presence and Cinder's presence alone.

The med-droid put the glass to Kai's lips but within an instant of feeling it he jerked away, batting at it with what little strength he could muster. The med coaxed the cup to his lips once again only for Kai to let out a pained sob and jerk away again.  
'Go away!' Cinder said exasperated as she grabbed the cup off the droid.  
The med-droid retreated back to its normal position and Cinder fed Kai the water in small sips.

Cinder watched Kai murmur nonsensical words to himself as she lay beside him, stroking his hair. Blue blood-filled spots covered him everywhere and his body felt like he was an oven heating up, so much so she had to wrap him in a blanket before touching him so she wouldn't feel the burning sensation of touching him. His tousled bangs stuck to his face like glue and his forehead was beaded with sweat.

'It's too hot,' he murmured, trying to push the sheets away but Cinder quickly covered him again.  
'I know…I know.' It was all she could say, however weightless and meaningless the words felt. She watched him wince in pain as he furiously scratched at the splotch on his arm to which Cinder shooed his hands away.  
'Don't do that. You'll make it worse.' She whispered, taking to holding his hand.  
'But it hurts…'  
'I know…I know…'

Cinder closed her eyes. She couldn't bear to see him like this, couldn't bear to not be able to say anything. She knew it hurt. She knew he was dying.

She knew, she knew, she knew. But what could she do?

It was killing her to sit and do nothing, only able to ask constantly for any new progress. But what could she do?

At the back of her mind, Cress light voice filled her thoughts.

_Sing for him. It's painful because you can't do anything right? Well if you asked me to sing to soothe your nerves and pain he's bound to feel the same if you sing for him._

Wasn't that what Cress had said? If Cinder had felt ease with Cress' singing, would Cinder's singing really help Kai? She opened her eyes and looked at his face, twisted in agony and unease and in that moment, Cinder though that anything was worth a try.

Her voice was soft and quiet, but enough for only Kai and her to hear. He looked momentarily startled by her abrupt singing but soon he relaxed and closed his eyes listening intently. And the more Cinder sang, the more she saw him relax and the more the strained expression left. She smiled to herself; maybe Cress was right. Maybe there was a cure in the smallest of things.

Maybe there was hope, even if it was just a spark.

She whispered the last few notes and pressed a kiss to his hair. Kai opened his eyes, his eyes pleading.  
'Won't you sing something else?'  
'Like what?'  
'How about a Luna song? Until I fall asleep, please?' he asked.

Cinder sighed as she watched his pleading eyes and the soft tugging of her sleeve as he nagged her.  
'I'm surprised you have the energy to annoy me,' she teased, pushing a strand of his hair behind his ears, only for it to fall back.  
He gave her a small smile before poking his tongue out at her.  
'It's a special ability of mine.'  
'Clearly.'

But Cinder was glad whether it was a special ability or not. She was glad to know that there was still the same old him somewhere in there. Under all those splotches and pain, her Kai was still there; her annoying but lovingly cute Kai was still there.

She caught him looking at her with a teasing look. She frowned at him.  
'What?' she asked.  
His teasing look didn't disappear. 'You never gave me a birthday gift.'  
She rolled her eyes but her lips curved upwards into a smile.

Here he was sick and half asleep and all he was thinking about was birthday gifts?  
'Well between you getting sick and Luna to run and the Eastern Commonwealth to please I haven't really had the time to run down to the gift shop. Unless you want me to now,' she smiled, attempting to slip off the bed and leave as if to prove her point.

He grabbed her hand and tugged her back until she was in her previous sitting position.  
'No, don't go!' he whined.  
She laughed and pressed a kiss on his cheek. 'Well what do you want? Need time to decide?'  
'I've already decided…' he murmured cupping her face with his hands, the palms of them probably the only part not covered in blue blemishes.  
'What is it?'  
'You.'

Cinder slipped her hands into his tousled hair and watched as his eyes dropped to her lips.  
'You already have me,' she whispered.  
'You and a kiss then.'  
Cinder stroked back the hair that had fallen over his eyes and closed what little gap there was. Kai didn't seem to have the idea of letting her go; his hands held her tight as though she might fade away any moment.

When he finally let go, his eyes were still closed and his hands too weak to hold on. Cinder stayed with him until she was sure he fell asleep, before slipping into the joined bathroom. As she reached the door of the visitor room to exit, she turned back one last time to make sure Kai was still there, before blowing him a goodnight kiss.

_Sweet dreams…I promise we'll find a cure. I promise…._

* * *

**Sorry if the chapter dragged a bit… Hopefully I can make it up to you with the next chapter which might be late again as I have exams next week. But I have holidays after exam week so I'll be able to write more! **

**Thank you so much for reading and please review if you can!**


	15. A Forgotten Past

**Surprise! **

**I thought I'd update just before my term exams start so the wait until the next update wouldn't feel as long.**

* * *

The nightmares came in episodes, each one linking to its former and latter. There was always that one person that appeared, taunting, teasing. There was always the same fear that ignited within and there was always the same panic afterwards. And then there was the agonising question that haunted beyond comprehension, threatening the sanity of the mind, the soul.

_Was it all a vision? Had it all been a trick? _

First she was in a dark place, an endless void with no walls or floor or ceiling. There was no soul to be seen, no light but the radiance of a snow-white butterfly fluttering in proximity. It fluttered a few metres before coming back as if it wanted to be followed. It was as though the butterfly was compelling her to follow it. It moved forward and she was dragged along with it, toward something else radiating the same light that appeared in the distance, a silhouette cutting through the light. They butterfly drew closer until it stopped and hovered over the figure's head. She stopped in front of it.

The figure was a woman in a blood-red dress, the end splayed around her like a pool of blood. She was hunched over and her head was bent, the long strands of hair covering her features. Cuffs bound either hand separately and chains extended outward from them, disappearing into the ground. The figure's head moved upwards, arching to face her but before she could see the woman's features, the void came crashing around her and she felt herself being crushed.

Then came the next part; the gardens in the Luna palace. It was a pathway of cobblestone lined with trees and roses. A wooden bench with elaborate swirls for its backrest stood a few metres away. The tapping of heels against the cobblestone pathway caught her attention. A woman in a draping white dress with a golden belt at the waist and long white bell sleeves that ended in gold lining emerged from the side of one of the trees. The woman had flawless tan skin and dark brown hair neatly styled. The woman turned to face her with a warm smile.

'Selene…'  
The woman's voice was soft and melodious and her rich red lips barely parted.  
'Selene…' she called again, softly and more tempting.  
_Mother. _The voice sounded distant, but she knew it was her own. Or rather it was her thoughts. Without a second thought, her body began to move and she found herself walking, no running, towards Channary.  
_Mother. _

She reached Channary and fell into her arms as her mother pressed a kiss against her hair.  
'Mmmm….Selene…' she said pulling away from the embrace and tilting her head downwards to look at her daughter.  
'I told you to be careful didn't I? I warned you.' Channary's voice took a tone of authority. 'You never know what may be the truth and what may be a vision.'  
Channary ran a finger down her cheek and to her chin before inclining her daughter's head to look her in the eye before continuing.  
'I told you...playing with her is like playing with fire...'  
But before she could answer, she felt herself slip from Channary's embrace and fall endlessly.

She was back in the dark void again, facing the blackness ahead of her. She was aware of a light behind her, coaxing her to turn around. Slowly, carefully she spun around with her eyes shut tightly. The light became a little dimmer and when she opened them she saw the snow-white butterfly fluttering over the place she had last been. It hovered over the chains and cuffs bounding the woman in the blood-red dress.  
But the woman…the woman was…

Gone.

_Had it all been an illusion? Had she survived? Was she still alive, hiding, waiting?_

Cinder woke with a start, her heart pounding uncontrollably and her breaths coming in short gasps as if her airways had constricted. Every night she woke up with the same rush. Every night she woke with the same fear in her heart and the same questions in her mind. Every night she woke up from the same nightmare.

Hugging her knees, she buried her face in the space between her knees and chest. She gasped for air, squeezing herself into a smaller form. This time there was no Kai to hug her and lead her to a walk in the gardens. This time she was on her own. Like all other nights on Luna. When she finally regained control of herself she lay back down, pulling the quilts over her as if to protect herself from the horrors of another nightmare. Beside her, on the bedside table, her portscreen pinged.

Groaning, she reached out for it.  
'Accept comm.'  
The screen was black for a moment apart from the Luna symbol rotating at the bottom and then it changed. The room on the screen was…Kai's quarantine room. Cinder jolted upright, a look of horror and alarm mixing together.  
'Hello?!' she called into the screen tilting it to try get a better view.

A woman appeared at the corner of the screen. She was in a dark cloak that concealed most of her body and face but Cinder could make out the rich red lips and the hair that came down in ringlets. Cinder barely stopped herself from screaming. The woman was…  
'Ahhhh, Selene...what a pleasure,' the woman said, her voice sweet and calm. Behind her Cinder could make out Kai's body, limp but the slow rising and falling of his chest told her he was asleep.

'What do you want?' Cinder asked, her voice still weak from the nightmare. The woman just smiled lightly before turning to face Kai.  
'Hmmm…first Emperor Rikan and his empress and now you,' the voice continued, disregarding Cinder's question. The woman caressed Kai's cheek with one pointed nail. She clucked her tongue disappointedly. 'How disappointing of you, failing your people just like your parents.'

'Leave him alone!' Cinder shrieked into the screen, feeling helpless as she balled the ends of her quilts into her fists.  
The woman sat by his bedside. 'Look at all the trouble you've gotten him into,' she said regarding Cinder through the screen. 'This is all your fault after all, is it not?'  
Cinder gulped; the only thing she could do to stop herself from screaming or tearing out her hair.

_It was her fault wasn't it? If she'd never come to Earth, nothing would've happened. If she hadn't gone to the apples, none of this would've happened. If she hadn't been queen none of this would've happened.  
Maybe if she hadn't existed, none of this would have happened either._

The woman's nails dug into Kai's cheek. He let out a moan but he was too weak to do anything else. Blue blood-filled splotches covered his body like cream on a cake.  
She continued in the same calm voice she'd begun with. 'For a girl as smart as you are, I would've thought you would've realised by now. You're the reason he's dying. You're the reason he's like this. It's your fault and you can't deny it. You know it is the truth.'

Cinder buried herself under the quilts away from the portscreen. She wanted to scream at it to switch off, to end the comm, but she couldn't bring herself to do it; she was too frightened, too filled with guilt and too filled with worry for Kai. So she left it on and let the woman continue.  
'You think you're helping him by being at his side? You're wrong. You're killing him. Each day you stay by his side, each moment you touch him, you bring him closer to his death. You make it all the more painful for him.'

Cinder dared to peek at the screen. The woman was now staring intently at Cinder, her onyx eyes boring into her soul even though they were floors apart. It was as though she was making Cinder paralysed that she couldn't move or look away. Cinder couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. The woman was…

'You are killing him,' the woman said, in a harder tone. 'Him and everyone else around you.'

The screen turned black leaving Cinder to lay on the bed, paralysed with fear, her fingers twitching as she registered the words. The portscreen slipped off the bed and fell to the floor. Cinder was too paralysed with fear to do anything. She shut her eyes tightly as a throbbing headache formed; a reminder she would be crying now. Her nightmare came rushing to her mind.

The snow-white butterfly, the woman in the blood-red dress, her mother warning her and the void again with the butterfly and the chains…

And the woman…the woman…

Gone.

_Had it all been an illusion? Had she survived?_

Was the ghost of her past really a ghost anymore?

* * *

**If you were wondering where I got Channary's details from, I saw it around tumblr (thank you to BananaKisses for asking Marissa Meyer the question or I never would've known myself). **

**I'd love to know your thoughts and thank you so much for faithfully reading and waiting for every update! It really means a lot! **

**Arya**


	16. A Long Awaited Revenge

**I apologise (again) for the long wait but it's been a really busy week. Hopefully I can get more updated and quicker ones at that done in these two weeks. Thank you so much for your patience.**

* * *

The streets of New Beijing were bustling with activity; people hurried into booths, their bags swinging about. Children played around the pathways, laughing and giggling as they chased each other and sang. The beep of ID chips exchanging money and the constant drone of android voices filled the marketplace. Cinder drowned it all out. She'd decided to ease her nerves of last night with a quiet walk through New Beijing visiting the old places she knew. Really, she had no idea where she was going.

She had promised Scarlet to be back by the afternoon when a meeting with Luna's head doctor, Dr Jayden, who had said he'd found something in his research about Kai's Letumosis. Cinder had pleaded with him to say it over a comm but he'd refused, saying the information was too valuable and it could be hacked through the net. So she'd told him to come to the New Beijing palace in the afternoon. He would be there soon, but Scarlet had told her to give him time to recover from the long trip from Luna.

She folded her arms over her chest and kept her head down as though she could vanish into thin air if she squeezed herself hard enough. Her glamour stopped any eyes from recognising her but even so she could feel their gazes lingering on her, hard and confused, as though they could see right through it. Shivering, she pulled the hood of her jacket to conceal her face more where the strands of her hair would not.

The smell of honey buns filled the atmosphere as she turned the corner. She looked up to see a flock of people outside a bakery store nearby. She made her way towards it and peered in.  
'Thank you! Come again!' a young boy called out as he waved to the customer he'd just served. Looking at the boy, she recognised him instantly; the miracle child of Letumosis.

Chang Sunto.

A man appeared from the back of the store with freshly baked buns.  
'Thank you uncle!' Sunto cried happily as he filled the almost empty display panel. So Sunto and his uncle had rebuilt the bakery that had been burned years ago in honour of his mother. She smiled; Chang Sacha would be proud. She watched him a little while longer before she turned to leave.

Almost instantly, another booth caught her eye. It stood on the opposite side with no sign to display its trade. The shelves were packed with spare parts for androids, cyborgs, portscreens and hovers. She made her way to the door and pulled, but it was locked. She frowned.  
_Was the booth still untouched four years on?  
_Her eyes swept over the stained tablecloth and the many screws that were scattered around the workbench. Her heart ached as she stood looking into the mechanic booth that was once her pride and joy.

'It's closed.'  
Cinder spun around, startled at the intruding voice, pulling her hood closer to conceal her face.  
'I know…I just thought it was a new mechanics shop,' she muttered not daring to look at the girl's face. Cinder noted the chestnut curls that were draped down the girl's back, visible in Cinder's line of vision.  
'It was closed off four years ago under Emperor Kai's orders. Something about preserving history,' the girl said, her voice taking on a tone of boredom.  
'History?'  
'The owner of that booth turned out to be the Luna Queen. Unbelievable right?! I find myself doubting it every day. Personally I could never see _that _girl being royalty. She was my stepsister you know.'

Cinder shut her eyes tightly as her brain registered the identity of the woman before her. She dared to look up and called off her glamour momentarily. The woman gasped and took a step back, her eyes widening in surprise.  
'Pearl,' Cinder muttered melting her surprise back into an expressionless face.  
'You've got to be kidding me,' Pearl groaned, rubbing her eyes as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Cinder called back her glamour before anyone else could realise they were in the presence of the Luna queen and made her way around Pearl.  
'I'll see you later I guess,' she said hurriedly and quickened her pace, eager to get away from her stepsister.  
But before Cinder could disappear into the crowd of people surrounding them, Pearl latched her arm around Cinder's and dragged her the opposite way.  
'Oh no you don't! Coming to the Eastern Commonwealth and running away like this,' she hissed and proceeded to drag a struggling Cinder towards the other end of the street.

Cinder gave up trying to get away from Pearl and let her weave through the crowds of people towards Adri who was impatiently waiting at the end of the street.  
'Just what took you so long young lady?' Adri asked, the wrinkles on her face adjusting to her frowning expression.  
Pearl's smile was devious as she yanked Cinder next to her, who caught the poor girl off guard and sent her glamour wavering enough for Adri to see who Pearl had brought with her.

'Adri,' Cinder said, her voice as expressionless as a regular android as she stared at her former legal guardian.  
'Cinder!' Adri sounded as though Cinder were some scandalous object. 'How dare you show your face again!'  
Cinder was startled. 'Excuse me? I have every right to be here!'  
'No you don't. You should be on Luna where you and the rest of your filthy kind belong! Don't think the citizens of the Eastern Commonwealth are blind Cinder! We know your sinister ways! Luna hasn't changed one bit; the citizens and the queen herself! You're the worst of them!' Adri's voice was seething with venom as she wrinkled her nose at Cinder.

Cinder looked bewildered. Adri's scolding had caught her off guard that her glamour had disappeared. All around her people had stopped to watch them, noting Adri's raised voice, Pearl who was watching with devilish delight and the Luna queen herself.  
Warnings of increasing adrenalin and panic flashed across her retina display but Cinder took no heeding to them. She was spotted. Everyone knew the Luna queen was here. But most of all everyone had heard what Adri had said and everyone believed it. There was now a large circle surrounding them and Cinder was sure that the media come soon.

'Is that….'  
'The Lunar queen!'  
'It is her!'  
'How dare she show her face!'  
'She poisoned the emperor!'

Bits of conversation about her flew into her ears so loud it was as if her audio was beyond maximum volume. Both Pearl and Adri seemed unfazed by the sudden change. But of course they weren't. This is what they wanted wasn't it? This was their long awaited revenge on the ward that had gone from nothing to everything while they remained in the background, jealous and angry. The perfect opportunity and time to hurt Cinder, and they'd taken it. Cinder took a step away from them but all around them were angry citizens, yelling at her, scolding her.

'I…I didn't do anything!' Cinder cried as she gasped for air, watching the people move in on her. But that was a lie wasn't it? Because it was her fault he'd eaten the apple. She had done something.  
'Don't lie to us,' Pearl said, looking smug. 'Admit it, you want the Eastern Commonwealth. You want to rule just like Levana!'  
Cinder shook her head frantically, but all the angry faces around her told her whatever she said would not be believed.

_Run. _

It was the only word in her mind, and gathering her skirts into her fists she raced towards the crowd, her head down so people couldn't see the fear on her face. People screamed as she ran towards them and she mustered all her concentration to her thoughts.  
_Move. Move away. Let me through.  
_Her glamour worked and the crowd split to make way for her as she dashed across the marketplace towards the palace. The people raced after her, angry comments searing into her back.

_Run. Don't stop. Run._

Her retina display was flashing warnings at her, blinding her vision. She forced them all to go away and ran for her life, that palace gates finally visible. As she neared the gates, the Eastern Commonwealth guards became alert of the large mass of people following her.  
'Help, please!' She cried, but it came out more as a whisper as she ran out of breaths.

Cinder tripped over a small rock and fell onto the pathway in front of the gates with a scream. She scrambled back frantically as the few guards guarding the palace came to stand in front of her yelling into their portscreens for backup.

'She killed the emperor!'  
'Get her!'  
'Just like Levana!'  
'She's just as evil as them!'

She felt hands help her to her feet and met Torin's worried gaze. With one hand supporting her back and the other clasping her hand he led her into the palace. Cinder looked back and saw the angry mob of people who'd chased her being driven back by the crowd but all stares were on her as she entered the safety of the palace. But even though they weren't following her anymore, their words were, thick with hatred and anger, their words pierced her ears, her flesh, her heart.

_She killed the emperor! Just like Levana! How dare she show her face!_

Again, the comm from last night filled her thoughts. She found herself stumbling and Torin strong arms tightening their grip as he led her through the hallways and towards her room.  
'It's okay, It's okay,' Torin's voice breathed near her ear, trying to ease her nerves. They entered the guest wing hallway and Torin opened her door. She blindly followed him into the room, staring straight ahead.

She heard Torin gasp and felt his grip tighten in surprise. He tried to spin her around to usher her out the room, but Cinder stood rigid to the spot, unable to move. Unable to tear her gaze away from the scene before her.  
'Come back outside. There's nothing to see. There's nothing to see,' he said, his tone urgent and horrified. 'Come this way, we'll go to another room. There's nothing for you to see here.' He tried again to lead her out the door, covering her eyes while he did.  
But it was too late. Cinder had already seen what was in the room.

She'd already seen the white sheets of her bed stained red. She'd already seen the window open wide and the curtains billowing wildly. She'd already seen the knife impaled into his chest with the blood oozing out, soaking his lab coat. She'd already seen what Torin didn't want her to see.

She'd already seen the body of Dr Jayden sprawled lifeless on the floor, his head lulled to face her with blood smeared all over.

She screamed.

* * *

**It was longer than the previous chapters and the events may have gone a bit too fast, but I hope it was okay to understand. Hopefully these next few weeks won't be as congested as the last one was and I get quicker updates to you.**

**Also, thank you to RyuRyu Zucchini Chan and CrimsonKira for giving me inspiration for the events in this chapter! I love you guys~ **

**And thank you everyone else for your reviews and likes and favourites! They also mean a lot to me, more than words could express! **

**Thank you for patiently waiting~**


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